From 20:58 on April 25, 2024 Beijing time to 20:58 on October 9, the "Shenzhou 18" astronaut crew Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu have been flying for 167 days (about 5.5 months), and are about to usher in the "Shenzhou 19" rotation crew.
"Shenzhou 18" mission ship and arrow combination
It is expected that on the morning of October 25, at the manned launch station of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in western Inner Mongolia, the "Shenzhou 19" manned spacecraft carrying 3 astronauts will be launched by the "Long March 2F" Yao-19 carrier rocket.
"Shenzhou" manned spacecraft
Shenzhou-19 is the 8th manned mission of China's manned space station project and the 14th manned mission of China's manned space program. The "Shenzhou" series manned spacecraft used in this mission has an unloaded mass of 7.8 tons, which can support three astronauts to achieve a round-trip between heaven and earth, with a capacity of 300 kg for the uplink and 50 kg for the downlink. The spacecraft supports 6 months of flight with a docked target vehicle and 5 days of independent flight.
Since its successful maiden flight on November 20, 1999, the "Shenzhou" spacecraft has carried out 18 missions, of which five missions, from "Shenzhou 1" to "Shenzhou 4" and "Shenzhou 8", have been unmanned flights.
"Shenzhou 18" mission ship and arrow combination
The Long March-2F carrier rocket used to launch the spacecraft is a medium-sized liquid carrier rocket at room temperature, which is specially designed and developed for manned space missions. The rocket has a take-off mass of 497 tons and a low earth orbit (LEO) of 8.8 tons. Since its successful maiden flight on November 20, 1999, the Chang-2F has carried out 23 launch missions, with a success rate of 100%.
The crew of "Shenzhou 19" is still an old and new combination, with a lot of highlights and suspense. For example, the third batch of astronauts will show new faces, and will the crew be led by the first or second batch of astronauts? Will there be female astronauts? Are there any post-90s astronauts? These questions will be officially revealed at the mission's press conference the day before launch.
As comrades-in-arms, the "Shenzhou 18" crew is naturally looking forward to the arrival of the "Shenzhou 19" crew and the realization of the fifth space rendezvous of China's space station. At the same time, the "Shen XIX" crew will also bring relatively scarce fresh fruits and vegetables to the "Shen XVIII" crew, and it will be half a year since the "Shen XVIII" brought material supplies. At this time, the "Shen XVIII" crew was eagerly waiting for the arrival of the "Shen XIX" crew.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou