China sends 3 astronauts to space station for 5-month mission

Jing Haipeng right Zhu Yangzhu center and Gui Haichao met the media at a send-off ceremony early on Tuesday morning in front of their residential building at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert. China's WANG JIANGBO JIUQUAN China has launched the Shenzhou - 16 manned spaceship, sending three astronauts to its space station combination for a five-month mission.

The spaceship, atop a Long March 2 F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

As planned, the Shenzhou - 16 astronauts will conduct large-scale in-orbit tests and experiments in various fields. They are expected to make groundbreaking scientific advancements in the study of novel quantum phenomena, high-precision space time-frequency systems, the verification of general relativity, and the origin of life.

Zhu Yangzhu center Zhu Yangzhu right and Gui Haichao meet the media at the send-off ceremony early on Tuesday in front of their residential building at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert. WANG JIANGBO The crew, consisting of mission commander Major Jing Haipeng Jing Haipeng, Colonel Zhu Yangzhu, a spaceflight engineer and professor Gui Haichao, a science payloads specialist, will witness the dockings of the Tianzhou 5 cargo ship and the Shenzhou 17 manned spaceship, as well as the departures of the Shenzhou 15 manned spaceship and Tianzhou 5 manned spaceship.

The three astronauts of China's 11th manned spaceflight, the Shenzhou XVI, headed to the launch tower early on Tuesday morning, in front of their residential building in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert.

All in spacesuits, the three astronauts reported to General Xu Xueqiang, the commander-in-chief of the country's manned space program, that they were ready for the mission and asked for permission to embark on the flight.

The Jing Haipeng center Zhu Yangzhu right and Gui Haichao are meeting the media at a send-off ceremony early on Tuesday in front of their residential building at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert. WANG JIANGBO Xu said he had his permission before the crew saluted him and all the participants at the brief event. The astronauts then boarded their coach to the launch tower.

In the center of Jiuquan, many workers and residents hailed the astronauts as their vehicle passed them.

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The Shenzhou XVI is China's third generation of astronauts and will mark the first time for any Chinese citizen to fly out of the earth.

This will be the fourth time Jing has flown into space, making him the most experienced astronaut in China.

The first of the third generation astronauts to go on spaceflight is Zhu and Gui.

The Shenzhou XVI crew will stay inside the Tiangong for around five months and are expected to return to Earth in November. The spacewalks will take place during the mission to mount equipment outside the station and maintain the large orbital outpost, said mission officials.

In addition to spacewalks, they also assist with the docking and departure of visiting spacecraft such as cargo ships and a space-based telescope, conducting scientific experiments and technological demonstrations, and hosting science lectures.