Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong during the send-off ceremonies for their mission aboard the Tiangong 2 space station. (Photo : Twitter)
China has sent its first two astronauts to man its new space station in a bid to boost its space program.
Mission commander Jing Haipeng and flight engineer Chen Dong lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert aboard a Long March 2F rocket on Oct. 16, the New York Times reported.
The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft carrying the astronauts is set to dock with the new Tiangong-2 space station that was launched into orbit in September.
Mission commander Jing expressed his excitement over the mission. "It is any astronaut's dream and pursuit to perform many missions," he told reporters during the pre-flight conference. Shenzhou 11 is Jing's thirst space flight.
Meanwhile, this will be the first space mission for Jing's crew-mate Chen. He also expressed his excitement for the opportunity to go to space and candidly said that he will enjoy the view of the Earth from above, He also thanks Jing for helping him during the preparations for the flight.
The two astronauts' spacecraft is expected to dock with the space lab two days after the launch. Once docked, the two astronauts are expected to stay at the station for around 30 days,conducting experiments on medicine and space-related technologies. They will also conduct tests on the various onboard systems in preparation for the arrival of the new station's core module in 2018.
Shenzhou 11 is the longest manned spaceflight that China has conducted, Spaceflight Now reported. The country launched its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, in 2003. Succeeding Shenzhou missions lasted for about two weeks each.
On the other hand, Tiangong-2 is the country's second habitable space module. The first one, Tiangong-1, was launched in 2011 and remained operational until early this year. China plans to have a fully operational space station by the next decade in preparation for future missions to the moon and Mars.
