31 MAY,2023.
Chinese mission with fi•rst civilian reaches space (PG 15)(GS 3)
31 MAY,2023.
China sent three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Tuesday, putting a civilian into orbit for the fi•rst time as it pursues plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030. • The world’s second-largest economy has invested billions of dollars in its military-run space programme in a push to catch up with the United States and Russia. • The Shenzhou-16 crew took off•atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 9:31 a.m. (0301 IMT). • They docked at the space station’s Tianhe core module on Tuesday afternoon, more than six hours after taking off•. The launch was a “complete success” and the “astronauts are in good condition”, Z ou Lipeng, director of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center said. • Leading its crew is commander Jing Haipeng on his fourth mission, as well as engineer Zhu Yangzhu and Beihang University professor Gui Haichao, the fi•rst Chinese civilian in space. China was the third country to put humans in orbit and Tiangong is the crown jewel of its space programme.