BEIJING: Three Chinese astronauts, or taikonauts, Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu will head to the core module of China’s space station at 12:23 a.m. Beijing Time on October 16 (4:23 p.m. GMT on October 15), China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Thursday during a press briefing.
The mission, called Shenzhou-13, is the second of the four manned missions for the construction of China’s space station, Tiangong.
The trio will stay in space for six months, the longest ever in-orbit duration for taikonauts.
The launch will be carried out with a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. All facilities at the launch site are in good condition, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA.
After entering orbit, the spaceship will conduct a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the in-orbit space station core module Tianhe.
The taikonauts will live and work in the core module according to the same timetable as on Earth, said Lin.After six months, they will return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region taking the return capsule.
Here are some basic facts about the three taikonauts:
Born in October 1966, Zhai is the first Chinese to conduct a spacewalk, making China the third country in the world to master the technology for extravehicular activities.
As the most experienced crew member of Shenzhou-13, he will be the commander of the mission.
Zhai was admitted to the first batch of taikonauts in 1998. He was among the final groups to train for the Shenzhou-5 and Shenzhou-6 flights, but finally flew aboard the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft.
During the Shenzhou-7 mission in September 2008, Zhai served as the commander of the spacecraft. He performed a landmark 20-minute spacewalk with the help of Liu Boming, who later became one of the Shenzhou-12 crew.
Born in 1980, Wang is China’s first millennial taikonaut and the second female taikonaut who has been to space.
She will become the country’s first female taikonaut to work in China’s space station, and also the first female taikonaut to conduct extravehicular activities, according to the CMSA. In May 2010, Wang was selected to be a member of the second batch of taikonauts.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN
News exchange item
