First manned mission to new Chinese space station to launch June 17th
The new colonial movement: China yesterday announced that the first manned mission to its new Chinese space station will launch tomorrow, June 17th, carrying three astronauts to the station’s Tianhe core module launched earlier this year.
One day before launch, China finally confirmed unofficial reports that it will launch the first crew to its new space station module, Tianhe, on June 17 Beijing Time (June 16 Eastern Daylight Time). It is China’s first human spaceflight launch in 5 years. The three men will stay aboard Tianhe for three months, the longest time in orbit for any Chinese crew.
During the three month mission the astronauts will do at least one spacewalk to likely deploy solar panels and other equipment preparing Tianhe for later modules.
The announcement also included statements by Russia that it has agreed to send Russian astronauts to the station at some point in the future.
No word on whether China will broadcast the launch live.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The new colonial movement: China yesterday announced that the first manned mission to its new Chinese space station will launch tomorrow, June 17th, carrying three astronauts to the station’s Tianhe core module launched earlier this year.
One day before launch, China finally confirmed unofficial reports that it will launch the first crew to its new space station module, Tianhe, on June 17 Beijing Time (June 16 Eastern Daylight Time). It is China’s first human spaceflight launch in 5 years. The three men will stay aboard Tianhe for three months, the longest time in orbit for any Chinese crew.
During the three month mission the astronauts will do at least one spacewalk to likely deploy solar panels and other equipment preparing Tianhe for later modules.
The announcement also included statements by Russia that it has agreed to send Russian astronauts to the station at some point in the future.
No word on whether China will broadcast the launch live.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
5-years is a strangely long gap for a space program with a still-active production line of spacecraft. They are really going to need to step up their cadence if they want build up an experienced taikonaut corps. In the past year alone, SpaceX has launched 10 individual astronauts. China’s grand total in 18 years of manned flight is 11, which will rise to just 12 upon this latest launch.
With the launch at 6:22 PDT today and nothing listed on CCTV, we will probably see video or pics two hours after.
Are they planning to continue dropping first stages in random locations around the Earth. Do they not worry about hitting a city?
I can’t wait to see the flurry of raw social media when one of those first stages hits land! It will be like a real time Wuhan Lab leak.