April 26, 2024

China’s second space station crew will launch Friday and you can watch it live

China is all set to introduce its second team of three astronauts to its new area station– including the very first lady to go to the orbiting outpost.The Shenzhou 13 spacecraft is arranged to introduce atop a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT) on Friday (Oct. 15; 00:23 Oct. 16 regional time), Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, exposed at a press conference on Thursday (Oct. 14). You can watch the launch live here and on the Space.com homepage, thanks to the state-run China Central Television network, beginning at about 9:25 a.m. EDT (1325 GMT). Shenzhou 13 will introduce simply as Chinas orbiting Tianhe space station module passes over the launch website at Jiuquan, allowing the spacecraft to catch up and dock with Tianhe around 8 hours later.Related: The most current news about Chinas area programThe crew for the six-month-long mission were verified to be Zhai Zhigang (leader), Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu. The trio had been the backup to the recently completed Shenzhou 12 mission.Zhai, who became the first Chinese resident to bring out a spacewalk during the Shenzhou 7 objective in 2008, will command the objective. This will be Yes first flight, while Wang will become the very first female astronaut to check out Tianhe. Wang belonged to the Shenzhou 10 objective in 2013 and delivered an instructional lecture from space.Major mission objectives for Shenzhou 13 consist of testing critical technologies for assembly and building and construction of the spaceport station, which will get 2 more modules in 2022. Many noteworthy is evaluating transferring a module from one docking port to another using manual teleoperation of Tianhes robotic arm. The uncrewed Tianzhou 2 spacecraft, which provided products for Shenzhou 12, will be used as a test article, Chinese authorities said.Two to three extravehicular activities, or spacewalks, are likewise planned during the Shenzhou 13 mission. The major objective will be to set up an adaptor that will enable Tianhes large arm to connect to another, smaller arm that will be on a future module.Other objectives consist of further confirmation of the health, working and living assistance technologies for astronauts six-month remain on orbit and the efficiency of technological and clinical experiments in fields such as space medicine and microgravity physics. Shenzhou 13 will dock at the nadir port of Tianhe, which deals with Earth. This means the spacecraft will need to make a radial, or R-bar, rendezvous to get near the module, approaching Tianhe from a direction perpendicular to the Earth, rather of along the line of Tianhes flight path similar to more routine docking maneuvers. The Long March 2F to launch Shenzhou 13 team spacecraft being vertically moved to the pad at Jiuquan, Oc. 7, 2021. (Image credit: CMSA) Zhai, 55, is returning to area after 13 years. ” Speaking on behalf of our team and myself, Im positive about, and efficient in completing, the Shenzhou 13 mission. The self-confidence comes from the physical and technological preparations along with the mastery of the spacecrafts equipment system,” Zhai said at an interview at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Thursday. “Confidence comes when these preparations are in place. With self-confidence, the spaceflight is not that difficult.” Spaceflight rookie Ye Guangfu, 41, expressed his delight at being chosen: “Im really happy to be able to perform this objective. As a second-batch astronaut, I feel extremely honored and happy that I will remain in orbit for 6 months in my very first area objective. At the exact same time, this is certainly a test for me, but I am completely positive that I can complete this task.” Asked if Wang Yaping would as soon as again deliver a live lecture from orbit to students back in China, Lin verified that such public outreach activities would be a part of the Shenzhou 13 mission.Lin also attended to security procedures. In the occasion of a severe issue and loss of function of the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft, Lin said an emergency situation launch of a rescue spacecraft would be “initiated instantly to dock with the spaceport station and bring astronauts back in a prompt way.” The Shenzhou 13 spacecraft and Long March 2F rocket for Fridays mission had formerly been on standby at Jiuquan in case of an emergency impacting the Shenzhou 12 mission.Launch is expected to be streamed by Chinese media, with another live feed available through the CGTN Youtube channel.Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook..

Shenzhou 13 will release simply as Chinas orbiting Tianhe space station module passes over the launch website at Jiuquan, permitting the spacecraft to capture up and dock with Tianhe around eight hours later.Related: The newest news about Chinas area programThe crew for the six-month-long mission were verified to be Zhai Zhigang (commander), Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu. The trio had been the backup to the just recently finished Shenzhou 12 mission.Zhai, who ended up being the very first Chinese resident to bring out a spacewalk throughout the Shenzhou 7 objective in 2008, will command the objective. Wang was a member of the Shenzhou 10 mission in 2013 and provided an educational lecture from space.Major objective goals for Shenzhou 13 include testing vital innovations for assembly and construction of the space station, which will receive 2 more modules in 2022. The uncrewed Tianzhou 2 spacecraft, which provided supplies for Shenzhou 12, will be used as a test post, Chinese officials said.Two to 3 extravehicular activities, or spacewalks, are likewise planned during the Shenzhou 13 mission.