The trio started their mission on Sunday aboard the spaceship “Shenzhou 14” from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome in the north-west of the People’s Republic. A Long March 2F rocket took them into space, as shown in a live broadcast by Chinese state television.
This is the third crew that will live in the core module of the future space station. At the beginning of May, a cargo flight had already brought equipment and supplies into space in preparation for the mission. During the astronauts’ stay, two more modules are to be sent into space and attached in July and October.
Another manned flight is planned, possibly in December. Then six astronauts should temporarily stay in the space station. The T-shaped station, which will ultimately weigh 66 tons, is then to be completed and start regular operation. The space station called “Tiangong” (Heaven’s Palace) underpins China’s ambitions to become a space power and to catch up with the great spacefaring nations USA and Russia.
Source: Nachrichten
