Successful take-off for Shenzhou-13, China’s longest manned space mission

They will stay six months in space, a record for China. Three taikonautes, including a woman, took off for the Chinese Space Station construction site on the night of Friday October 15 to Saturday October 16. Their Shenzhou-13 spacecraft was propelled by a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan launch center in the Gobi Desert, according to images broadcast live by public television CCTV. Shenzhou-13 docked at the space station’s radial port hours later.

At an altitude of around 400 km, the three astronauts will stay in the only module already in orbit of the three that will eventually constitute the Chinese Space Station. They will have to continue the construction of the station but also to conduct scientific experiments, in particular by bringing back valuable information on the way in which their body adapts to this long stay. This will double the duration record for a Chinese manned mission, just set in September by the Shenzhou-12 mission. The three taikonauts will also perform two or even three spacewalks.