China’s Shenzhou-13 capsule has arrived at the Tiangong Space Station, the official Xinhua News Agency reported last night from Friday to Saturday.
Launched Friday by the Long March-2F launch vehicle, Shenzhou-13 docked with Tianhe, the space station’s core unit, translating Heavenly Palace, which Beijing is building. There are now three astronauts on board, including Wang Yaping. On her second flight, she was the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk.
Also on board is the Tiangong space station, Zhai Zhigang, the first Chinese to do a “spacewalk” and newcomer Ye Guanfu. The three will remain in space for six months, a record for China. The astronauts, as the Chinese astronauts are called, will continue to work on the space station, which currently consists of one unit. The remaining two parts will be added next year.
Shenzhou-13 was launched on Friday at 6:23 pm Belgian time from the Gobi Desert. The opening ceremony was attended by Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng.
In June, three astronauts visited the Heavenly Palace for the first time. They returned home in September.
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