BEIJING: The Shenzhou-17 astronauts entered the China Space Station at 7:34 p.m. Beijing Time on October 26, starting a new round of in-orbit handover with the Shenzhou-16 astronauts.
The spaceship made a fast, automated rendezvous and docked with the front port of the space station’s core module Tianhe at 5:46 p.m. on the same day, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
The Shenzhou-16 crew opened the hatch of the airlock module and welcomed the Shenzhou-17 crew with hugs. Later they entered the core module of the space station. The two crew teams took a group photo and sent their best wishes to Earth.
Shenzhou-17 crew commander Tang Hongbo was one of the first taikonauts to enter the newly-built China Space Station in 2021 and has returned only two years later to see how the station has expanded from one module to three. This makes him the Chinese astronaut with the shortest interval between two missions by far.
The crew rotation in orbit will begin in four days, with the Shenzhou-16 crew returning home, ending their mission after over five months in space. All six crew members will work together in the short period for the handover.Earlier, China launched the Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Thursday.
A Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft with three Chinese astronauts, known as taikonauts, on board, blasted off at 11:14 a.m. Beijing Time.
Approximately 10 minutes after the launch, the spaceship separated from the rocket and entered its pre-determined orbit with the crew in good condition, marking the launch as a complete success, announced the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
This is the 30th flight mission of China’s manned space program, all of which are successful, and the 12th manned mission of the program. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
