onebyone
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2014
- Messages
- 7,550
- Reaction score
- -6
- Country
- Location
Shenzhou-11, which is due to blast off during this year’s fourth quarter, will dock with nation’s new Tiangong-2 experimental space station
PUBLISHED : Monday, 13 June, 2016, 2:15pm
UPDATED : Monday, 13 June, 2016, 3:48pm
COMMENTS:
Choi Chi-yuk
SHARE
PrintEmail
China has chosen two men as the two astronauts who are due to blast off aboard the spacecraft Shenzhou-11 during this year’s fourth quarter.
China’s second space lab to go into orbit this year as part of permanent manned space station by 2022
廣告
inRead invented by Teads
The challenging mission, which will last 30 days, will involve the spacecraft docking with the Tiangong-2 experimental space station – due to launched during this year’s third quarter – where the astronauts will be living and working, the Beijing Morning Post reported on Sunday.
However, unlike former space launches, only two – rather than three – astronauts will be aboard Shenzhou-11.
Gleam me up, Scotty: Chinese space station will rely on LEDs for all light
Zhang Bonan, chief designer of manned spacecraft systems at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, was quoted earlier by the People’s Daily as saying that there were limits on the capacity of the space station’s life support system, so the number of astronauts on this mission had been reduced in order to extend the time that the two astronauts could spend in space.
No further details, such as the names of the two astronauts taking part in the mission, were provided in the Beijing Morning Post report, which quoted unspecified sources at the China Manned Space Engineering Office.
China says improved space docking technology will help future missions
But the newspaper did say that the two astronauts were now undergoing intense training in preparation for the mission.
The main task for Shenzhou-11 will be to carry out a successful docking with the Tiangong-2.
The Tianzhou-1 cargo vehicle will also be launched and dock with the space station, to deliver supplies, during the 30-day mission.
Earlier reports said the two astronauts were due to carry out up to 14 experiments inside Tiangong-2, which will be a new record for China’s space missions.
China scraps first orbiting space laboratory after its functions fail following two years in space
Zhu Zongpeng, chief engineer of Tiangong-2, said earlier that the space lab had been specifically designed to allow astronauts to have longer stays in space.
“A 30-day stay in space is an internationally recognised medium-level threshold for manned missions,” he said.
“We will complete the mission with the support of a manned spacecraft, so Tiangong-2 must be able to offer more storage space for daily supplies.
A giant leap for mankind... to Alpha Centauri: Stephen Hawking announces plan to send laser-powered probes to star system 4.3 light years away
“Secondly, we have designed the space station to provide a more comfortable living and working environment for the astronauts.”
INFOGRAPHIC: Hello, neighbour
It has been three years since China launched its last spacecraft, Shenzhou-10, into space on a 15-day-long mission on June 11, 2013.
PUBLISHED : Monday, 13 June, 2016, 2:15pm
UPDATED : Monday, 13 June, 2016, 3:48pm
COMMENTS:
Choi Chi-yuk
SHARE
PrintEmail
China has chosen two men as the two astronauts who are due to blast off aboard the spacecraft Shenzhou-11 during this year’s fourth quarter.
China’s second space lab to go into orbit this year as part of permanent manned space station by 2022
廣告
inRead invented by Teads
The challenging mission, which will last 30 days, will involve the spacecraft docking with the Tiangong-2 experimental space station – due to launched during this year’s third quarter – where the astronauts will be living and working, the Beijing Morning Post reported on Sunday.
However, unlike former space launches, only two – rather than three – astronauts will be aboard Shenzhou-11.
Gleam me up, Scotty: Chinese space station will rely on LEDs for all light
Zhang Bonan, chief designer of manned spacecraft systems at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, was quoted earlier by the People’s Daily as saying that there were limits on the capacity of the space station’s life support system, so the number of astronauts on this mission had been reduced in order to extend the time that the two astronauts could spend in space.
No further details, such as the names of the two astronauts taking part in the mission, were provided in the Beijing Morning Post report, which quoted unspecified sources at the China Manned Space Engineering Office.China says improved space docking technology will help future missions
But the newspaper did say that the two astronauts were now undergoing intense training in preparation for the mission.
The main task for Shenzhou-11 will be to carry out a successful docking with the Tiangong-2.
The Tianzhou-1 cargo vehicle will also be launched and dock with the space station, to deliver supplies, during the 30-day mission.
Earlier reports said the two astronauts were due to carry out up to 14 experiments inside Tiangong-2, which will be a new record for China’s space missions.
China scraps first orbiting space laboratory after its functions fail following two years in space
Zhu Zongpeng, chief engineer of Tiangong-2, said earlier that the space lab had been specifically designed to allow astronauts to have longer stays in space.
“A 30-day stay in space is an internationally recognised medium-level threshold for manned missions,” he said.
“We will complete the mission with the support of a manned spacecraft, so Tiangong-2 must be able to offer more storage space for daily supplies.
A giant leap for mankind... to Alpha Centauri: Stephen Hawking announces plan to send laser-powered probes to star system 4.3 light years away
“Secondly, we have designed the space station to provide a more comfortable living and working environment for the astronauts.”
INFOGRAPHIC: Hello, neighbour
It has been three years since China launched its last spacecraft, Shenzhou-10, into space on a 15-day-long mission on June 11, 2013.
