Sunita Williams.
On the one hand, Indian-origin astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are stranded in space. On the other hand, China launched its Shenzhou-19 space mission on Wednesday. As part of this mission, China sent three astronauts to its space station for a six-month mission. The historic thing about this mission is that China’s first female space engineer has flown on this mission.
According to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the mission lifted off at 4:27 am (Beijing time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. Ten minutes into the mission launch, the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. CMSA said all the astronauts are absolutely fine and the launch was a complete success.
Who is involved in the mission?
The Nazhou-19 crew includes mission commander Cai Xuezhe and astronauts Song Lingdong and Wang Haozhe. Cai Xuezhe is an experienced astronaut, having also previously traveled to space on the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022. Song and Wang, part of the third group of Chinese astronauts to set foot in space for the first time, were born in the 1990s.
The agency said Wang is currently China’s only female space engineer and the third Chinese woman to join a space mission.
Why is the mission special?
Astronauts on this mission face many challenges, including conducting space science and application testing, installing protective devices, and managing the installation and recycling of payloads and additional equipment from the vehicles. They will carry out 86 space science research and technology experiments, covering a wide range of fields, including space life sciences, fundamental microgravity physics, space materials science, space medicine and new technologies. space, CMSA spokesman Lin Ziqiang said Tuesday.
The CMSA revealed in April that China had launched more than 130 scientific research and application projects on its space station.
