Chinese crew joins six-month journey to new space station | US News | NewsRme

Chinese crew joins six-month journey to new space station | US News | NewsRme Three Chinese astronauts have begun a six-month journey to the International Space Station after docking their Shenzhou-13 spacecraft safely on Saturday. The three astronauts were spotted floating about the module before addressing through live video. They vowed to perform their duties well as the nation nears completion of the new orbiting base. The spacecraft was launched late Friday by a Long March-2F rocket and docked with the Tiangong space station's Tianhe core module about six and a half hours later. They are the station's second crew, having arrived in April. The first team remained for a period of three months before departing. It will be China's first crewed space trip of this length, and it will mark an important milestone in the program's fast development in recent years. Two of the new members of the team are seasoned space travelers. Wang Yaping, 41, Zhai Zhigang, 55, and Ye Guangfu, 41, are all making their first trips to space. Zhai Zhigang is the oldest of the group. Wang will be the first Chinese woman in space when she completes her mission on the Tiangong space station. A military band and fans sang “Ode to the Motherland” as they left, highlighting the national pride invested in the fast expanding space program. For the purposes of preparing for station expansion, three spacewalks are planned by the crew. They will also evaluate conditions in the station's Tianhe module and perform research in space medicine and other areas during these walks. To complete the station, China's military-run space program intends to deploy several astronauts to it over a two-year period. Mengtian and Wentian will be the station's last two components, bringing its total weight to 66 tons, compared to the 450 tons of the International Space Station. Two more Chinese modules are scheduled for launch before the end of next year, during the crew's stay aboard the yet-to-be-named Shenzhou-14. Stay Connected with us: ==================== Website: https://newsRme.com YouTube: https://bit.ly/NewsRmeYoutube Facebook: https://bit.ly/NewsRmeFacebook Twitter:   / newsrme   Instagram :   / newsrme