China reveals new team of astronauts for space station launch

2 months ago 37

China announced the members of a three-person unit that volition beryllium launched to its abstraction presumption arsenic portion of its increasing exploration of space

BEIJING -- BEIJING (AP) —

China announced Wednesday the members of a three-person unit that volition beryllium launched to its abstraction presumption arsenic portion of its increasing exploration of space.

The Shenzhou 20 mission's astronauts are Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie, Lin Xiqiang, lawman manager wide of China Manned Space Agency. They volition regenerate 3 astronauts presently connected the Chinese abstraction station. Like those earlier them, they volition enactment determination for astir six months.

The 3 volition motorboat for abstraction Thursday evening successful China, from Jiuquan, connected the borderline of the Gobi Desert successful northwestern China.

The three-person unit were sent successful October past twelvemonth and person been successful abstraction for 175 days, said Lin.

Chen Dong, who antecedently served connected the Shenzhou 11 and Shenzhou 14 missions, is the radical leader, portion his 2 crewmates volition beryllium making their archetypal trips to space. Chen Zhongrui was an aerial unit aviator and Wang Jie, an technologist with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

“I consciousness incomparable pridefulness and accomplishment to spell to abstraction for my state again,” Chen Dong told reporters connected Wednesday. “Each travel to abstraction is unparalleled, I'm looking guardant to gaining much acquisition and much breakthroughs done this flight."

Chen Dong led operation of the abstraction presumption during the Shenzhou 14 mission.

While successful space, the astronauts volition transportation retired experiments successful abstraction medicine, and abstraction technology; execute extravehicular trips; and marque improvements to the abstraction station.

China built its ain abstraction presumption aft it was excluded from the International Space Station owing to U.S. nationalist information concerns implicit the power of the country's abstraction programme by the People’s Liberation Army, the subject subdivision of the ruling Communist Party.

China's abstraction programme has grown rapidly successful caller years. The abstraction bureau has landed an explorer connected Mars and a rover connected the acold broadside of the moon. It aims to enactment a idiosyncratic connected the satellite earlier 2030.

The returning astronauts are expected to onshore connected April 29.