Chinese Space Station

China sends youngest crew to space as it plans to put astronauts on moon

China launched its youngest-ever crew for its orbiting space station on Thursday as it seeks to put astronauts on the moon before 2030. The Shenzhou 17 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China atop a Long March 2-F rocket at 11:14 a.m. (0314 GMT) According to the China Manned Space Agency, the average age of the three-member crew is the youngest since the launch of the space station construction mission, state broadcaster CCTV earlier reported. Their average age is 38, state media China Daily said. Beijing is pursuing plans to place astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade amid a rivalry with the U.S. for reaching new milestones in outer space. This reflects the competition for influence between the world's two largest economies in the technology, military and diplomatic fields. The trio - Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin - will replace a crew that has been on the station for six months

3 Chinese astronauts return home safely after six-month stint in space

Three Chinese astronauts on Sunday returned safely to Earth on board the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship after completing their six-month mission to build China's space station. Shenzhou-15's return capsule carrying astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 6:33 am (Beijing Time), China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said here. The three completed their six-month space station mission, it announced. The astronauts were in good shape, and the Shenzhou-15 manned mission was a success, the agency announced. The three were replaced by three other astronauts, including China's first civilian who successfully flew to the space station on May 30. The new set of astronauts will stay in the space station for five months. Once ready, China will be the only country to own a space station as the International Space Station (ISS) of Russia is a collaborative project of several countries. The ISS

3 Chinese astronauts return home after 6-month stint in space station

Three Chinese astronauts on Sunday returned safely to Earth on board the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship after completing their six-month mission to build China's space station. Shenzhou-15's return capsule carrying astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 6:33 am (Beijing Time), China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said here. The three completed their six-month space station mission, it announced. The astronauts were in good shape, and the Shenzhou-15 manned mission was a success, the agency announced. The three were replaced by three other astronauts, including China's first civilian who successfully flew to the space station on May 30. The new set of astronauts will stay in the space station for five months. Once ready, China will be the only country to own a space station as the International Space Station (ISS) of Russia is a collaborative project of several countries. The ISS

China to send its first civilian to space on Tuesday, says space agency

China completed the construction of Tiangong, its third and permanent space station, last year

US keeps eye on China's space activities for potential risks to its assets

The US is closely monitoring Chinese activities that potentially threaten American assets in space as debris rapidly accumulates in low Earth orbit, the head of United States military operations in space said Friday. Commander of US Space Command Army Gen. James Dickinson also cheered the overwhelming passage in the United Nations of a resolution that countries not conduct direct-ascent antisatellite tests that create vast fields of space debris, which endanger satellites and space stations. Of the four countries that have conducted such ASAT tests, the United States was the only one that voted in favour, while China and Russia voted no and India abstained. We can't continue to contribute to the debris that we find in the space domain," Dickinson said in a telephone news conference with reporters in Asia. Most of that debris lies in crucial low Earth orbit, which has become congested, competitive and contested, he said. Even tiny shards of metal can pose a danger and the number of

China to send 3 astronauts to own space station, eyes manned Moon mission

China will be sending a three-person crew to its space station, which is nearing completion, and also announced on Monday plans for a manned mission to the Moon amid intensifying competition with the US. The Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China on Tuesday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced. The spaceship will take three astronauts -- Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming, and Zhang Lu -- to carry out the spaceflight mission. Fei will be the commander of the mission, Ji Qiming, assistant to the director of the CMSA, told the media. The crew will stay in orbit for about six months, a period in which the construction of the low-orbit space station is expected to be completed. The launch will be carried out with a Long March-2F carrier rocket, which will be filled with propellant soon, Ji said. After entering the orbit, the Shenzhou-15 spaceship will make a fast, automated rendezvous and dock with the front port o

Debris of Chinese rocket to fall back on Earth this weekend: Report

The rocket, Long March 5B, was used to send the final part of the Tiangong space station called Mengtian to the space station

Chinese astronauts enter lab module after docks with space station

It was the first time the Chinese astronauts had entered the lab module in orbit

An inexhaustible solar power station in space? China may get one by 2028

China will launch a satellite in 2028 to test wireless power transmission technology from space to the ground

Three astronauts enter China's space station module after successful launch

The significant feature of China's under-construction space station is its two robotic arms, especially the long one over which the US has previously expressed concern

China successfully launches crewed mission for space station construction

The Shenzhou-14 spacecraft carrying astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, was lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China

China to launch three astronauts on Sunday to build new space station

China will launch three astronauts on a spacecraft Sunday to work on the final stages of construction of the nation's first orbital outpost

China prepares final missions to complete its Tiangong space station

The Shenzhou XIV, which will carry three astronauts in June for a six-month mission to Tiangong, was moved to the launchpad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia on Sunday

3 Chinese astronauts return after spending record 6 mnths on space station

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth safely on Saturday after spending six months aboard China's new space station, doubling the previous stay of the country's longest single flight in space.

Chinese astronauts on six-month mission enter space station after launch

Three Chinese astronauts on board the Shenzhou-13, have entered the space station core module Tianhe on Saturday, the country's space agency said

More efficient than the ISS? A tour of China's Tiangong space station

Given multi-fold advances in technology, the Tiangong is likely to be more efficient than the ISS in many respects. This was evident in the crew transfer

China successfully launches first crewed mission to construct space station

China on Thursday successfully launched its crewed spacecraft, sending three astronauts to its space station's core module Tianhe for a three-month mission

China to send 3 male astronauts to its space station in June for 3 months

A three-man crew of astronauts will blast off in June for a three-month mission on China's new space station, according to a space official who was the country's first astronaut in orbit

China delays supply mission to new space station for technical reasons

China postponed a supply mission to its new space station Thursday for unspecified technical reasons

China's spacecraft lands on Mars, closing gap with US in space exploration

A China National Space Administration (CNSA) lander from the Tianwen-1, which has been in orbit since February, touched down on Utopia Planitia, a large plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars