China launches Shenzhou 13 astronauts on their Tiangong space station mission
- Lift-off was timed to give the crew, which includes the country’s second woman in space, the shortest possible journey
- Docking time will be reduced from days to hours thanks to China’s home-grown BeiDou navigational positioning system
China’s Shenzhou 13 spacecraft left Earth at 12.24am on Saturday, taking its three-person crew – including the country’s second female astronaut – to spend the next six months assembling the Tiangong space station.
The craft blasted off from the Jiuquan satellite launch centre in the Gobi Desert in northern China and is expected to arrive at the station’s Tianhe core module – 400km (248 miles) – after a journey of six and a half hours.
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China's Shenzhou 13 launches astronauts on Tiangong space station mission
On board are Wang Yaping, 41, who will be the first woman to set foot on the Tianhe, and her fellow astronauts Zhai Zhigang, 55, and Ye Guangfu, 41. Their six months in orbit will double the record set by their predecessors last summer.
Zhai, the most senior of the trio, has been designated mission commander while Ye will be making his maiden space flight. All three previously served as the backup crew for the recently completed Shenzhou 12 mission.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced the launch of Shenzhou-13 successful about 30 minutes after launch. Vice-premier Han Zheng and Xu Qiliang, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, who watched the launch in Beijing congratulated the staffs in the Beijing control centre.
A source at the Jiuquan centre said the lift-off time had been carefully chosen to capitalise on a pass of the Tianhe over the launch site, to give the astronauts the shortest possible journey to their destination. Docking will be assisted by China’s BeiDou navigational positioning system.
