Blast Off! Chinese Astronauts Launch Into Orbit

[Buster's Uncle]

Blast Off! Chinese Astronauts Launch Into Orbit
By Miriam Kramer | SPACE.com – 6 hrs ago..

Three Chinese astronauts blasted into space June 11, 2013 on the nation's fifth manned space mission.

 
A Chinese rocket roared into space Tuesday (June 11) carrying a crew of three on their way to the nation's space module orbiting Earth.

The trio of astronauts — two men and a woman — blasted off aboard their Shenzhou 10 spacecraft toward the Tiangong 1 module from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi desert at 5:38 a.m. EDT (9:38 GMT) — 5:38 p.m. local time.

Shenzhou 10's astronauts Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping — the second female Chinese spaceflyer — are the fifth Chinese crew to launch into space. The Long March 2F rocket carrying the three spaceflyers is the heaviest ever launched by the nation.

The Shenzhou 10 crew is set to dock with the Tiangong 1 module (also called the Heavenly Palace 1) twice during the course of its 15 day mission, Wu Ping, a spokeswoman for China's manned space program said during a briefing on Monday. One docking will be manual, the other automatic, Wu added.

"So far we only conducted three automatic docking tests and a manual one," Wu said, according to state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua. "More tests are needed. We also need to further prove that our astronauts are fit for a longer stay in space and the orbiters are able to support their life and work."

During their time in space, Nie, Zhang and Wang are scheduled to beam a science lesson down to students on Earth from orbit, and test the performance and efficiency of humans and technology in space.

The relatively small Tiangong 1 module has been in Earth's orbit since September 2011. The 8.5-ton structure is about half of the mass of the world's first space station — the Soviet Union's Salyut 1 — and the International Space Station is about 400 metric tons by comparison, Marcia Smith, editor of SpacePolicyOnline.com, wrote in a recent posting.

The first Chinese three-person crew docked to the Tiangong 1 module in June 2012. Before the Shenzhou 10 mission, eight other Chinese astronauts made the trip to space. The first Chinese astronaut, Yang Liwei, launched into orbit in 2003.

Chinese media is reporting that this latest journey marks the last of three planned missions to master space rendezvous and docking. Shenzhou 10 is part of China's plan to gain the experience necessary to build and operate a large space station by around 2020, officials have said.

Xinhua has reported that the larger station will be composed of three capsules: Two laboratories and a core unit. The orbiting habitat is expected to weigh more than 90 tons.

Both Zhang and Wang have never flown to space before, but Nie flew for just under five days during the Shenzhou 6 mission in 2005.

After the United States and Russia, China is the third country to launch astronauts into space on its own vehicles.

http://news.yahoo.com/blast-off-chinese-astronauts-launch-orbit-100635343.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Chinese spacecraft blasts off with 3-person mission to prototype space station
By Andy Wong, Associated Press | Associated Press – 2 hrs 8 mins ago..

The Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou 10 capsule blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, Tuesday, June 11, 2013. The Shenzhou 10 capsule carrying three astronauts lifted off on a 15-day mission to dock with a space lab and to educate young people about science. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

JIUQUAN, China (AP) -- China's latest manned spacecraft successfully blasted off Tuesday on a 15-day mission to dock with a space lab and educate young people about science.

The Shenzhou 10 capsule carrying three astronauts lifted off as scheduled at 5:38 p.m. (0938 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

It is China's fifth manned space mission and its longest. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket and will transport the crew to the Tiangong 1, which functions as an experimental prototype for a much larger Chinese space station to be launched in 2020. The craft will spend 12 days docked with the Tiangong.

On the heels of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's wildly popular YouTube videos from the International Space Station, the Chinese crew plans to deliver a series of talks to students from aboard the Tiangong.

The craft carried two men, mission commander Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang, and China's second female astronaut, Wang Yaping.

Earlier in the afternoon, President Xi Jinping was shown live on television wishing them well at the launch center.

"You have made Chinese people feel proud of ourselves," Xi told the three astronauts. "You have trained and prepared yourselves carefully and thoroughly, so I am confident in your completing the mission successfully.

"I wish you success and look forward to your triumphant return."

State television showed Xi watching the launch, as well as Premier Li Keqiang who was at the space command center in Beijing.

The space program is a source of enormous national pride for China, reflecting its rapid economic and technological progress and ambition to rank among the world's leading nations.

China is hoping to join the United States and Russia as the only countries to send independently maintained space stations into orbit. It is already one of just three nations to have launched manned spacecraft on its own.

The space classrooms mark the boldest step so far to bring the military-backed program into the lives of ordinary Chinese and follows in the footsteps of NASA, which uses student outreach to inspire interest in space exploration and sustain support for its budgets.

At a news conference Monday, Wang said she was "eager to explore and feel the magic and splendor of space with young friends."

Her fellow astronaut Zhang told reporters they would conduct dozens of space science experiments and would "enjoy personalized space foods especially designed by our nutritionists."

http://news.yahoo.com/chinese-spacecraft-blasts-off-3-140937186.html

[Geo]

Cosmonauts, Astronauts, Taikonauts,... what's next? 

[Green1]

Cosmonauts, Astronauts, Taikonauts,... what's next? 

Mexicanauts

[Buster's Uncle]

SpRacist...

[Buster's Uncle]

Three Chinese Astronauts Dock to Nation's Space Station
By Miriam Kramer | SPACE.com – 2 hrs 8 mins ago..

A look inside China's Tiangong 1 space lab, which launched into orbit in September 2011.

 
A Chinese space capsule carrying a crew of three docked with the nation's orbiting space module today (June 13), two days after launch.

State media reports that Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping — the second female Chinese astronaut to fly in space — automatically docked their Shenzhou 10 spacecraft to the Tiangong 1 module at 1:18 a.m. EDT (0518 GMT). The astronauts entered the orbiting module at 4:17 a.m. EDT (0817 GMT), beginning a 12-day stint onboard the space laboratory.

At 15 days in space, this mission is scheduled to be the longest spaceflight for a Chinese crew in the history of the country's space program.

"The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft has been successfully launched and precisely put into orbit, which means that our country's fifth manned space mission has succeeded in the first phase," said China's president, Xi Jinping, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. "At this very moment, I am sharing the same feeling with everyone. I am very happy and excited."

During their time on Tiangong 1 (also known as the Heavenly Palace 1), the spaceflyers will dock their spacecraft to the module once more using manual docking procedures and perform experiments in the module. The crew is also expected to send down a science lesson to Chinese school children on Earth at some point during their stay.

Shenzhou 10 is the last of three missions designed to help master space-based docking and rendezvous technology, officials have said.

The mission is expected to help the Chinese space agency gain necessary experience that can be applied to building and operating a larger space station by 2020. The eventual 90 ton orbiting station will have three capsules: a core unit and two laboratories, according to Xinhua.

Tiangong 1 has orbited Earth since Sept. 2011, and is scheduled to remain operational for another three months. The module has played host to eight other Chinese astronauts before the Shenzhou 10 mission, with the first crew docking in June 2012.

China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, was sent to orbit in 2003, making China the third nation — after Russia and the United States — to launch astronauts to space using its own vehicles.

http://news.yahoo.com/three-chinese-astronauts-dock-nations-space-station-155443413.html

[Geo]

Looks barren.

[Buster's Uncle]

They're just getting started.