China launches three person crew on Shenzhou-10

The Chinese have launched their fifth crewed space mission on Tuesday via the Shenzhou-10 mission. The launch of the Long March 2F/G rocket was on schedule at 09:38 UTC, taking place from Pad 921 at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center’s LC43 Launch Complex.

This new space chapter for the Chinese represents the final occupation of the Tiangong-1 space module and the launch of the second female “yu hang yuan” – the Chinese term for astronaut, as opposed to the more commonly used “taikonaut”.

The three member crew comprises of part of Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping.


The 15 day mission will be highlighted by the docking to the Tiangong-1 unmanned space module, which was launched on September 29, 2011.

The experimental space laboratory was involved with the rendezvous and docking test with Shenzhou-8 in November, 2011 – as well as testing the technologies for the future construction, management and operation of a space station.

Should the mission go to plan, Shenzhou-10 should dock with Tiangong-1 on June 13. The two spacecraft will remain docked for a period of 12 days which will include a second re-docking test, after which Shenzhou-10 will return to Earth on June 26.

Preparations For Launch:

Following the launch of Tiangong-1, Chinese space officials noted the space module would be visited by three Shenzhou spacecrafts, during one unmanned and two manned missions.

The Shenzhou-8 unmanned mission was eventually launched on October 31, 2011, automatically docking for the first time on November 3 and then again on November 14, before returning to Earth on November 17.

The successes paved the way for the crewed Shenzhou-9 mission, which was launched on June 16, 2012, with a crew comprising of Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang – the first female taikonaut.

Shenzhou-9 executed the first crewed docking – in automatic mode – with Tiangong-1 on June 18.

After a six day stay on the orbital module, the crew entered Shenzhou-9 on June 24 and separated from the vehicle, redocking some minutes later in manual mode. After a second stay on board Tiangong-1, the three member crew returned to Earth on June 29, 2012.

During the Shenzhou-9 mission the Party secretary of CALT, Liang Xiaohong, noted Shenzhou-10 was ready to launch at any time. It was then reported the mission would take place at the end of 2012 or early 2013, with a duration of around 20 days.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/...e-shenzhou-10/