China’s Shenzhou-14 mission successfully docked at the country’s Tiangong space station on Sunday. According to † the spacecraft’s crew of three arrived at the “Harmony of the Heavens” crew module at 5:42 p.m. local time after being launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert earlier in the day. The arrival marks the beginning of a six-month stay at the station for the mission’s astronauts, who will see China make significant progress toward completing Tiangong.
The country hopes to complete construction of the station by the end of the year. Next month, it will launch the first of two lab modules that will expand Tiangong’s capabilities, with the last to follow in October. The modules allow Chinese astronauts to conduct microgravity and life sciences research. After the country completes its first ever, the crew of the Shenzhou-14 will conduct multiple EVAs to prepare the station for expansion. Among the three astronauts is Liu Yang, the first Chinese woman to reach space nearly a decade ago during the country’s Shenzhou-9 mission.
Once completed, the entire T-shaped structure will be about one-fifth the size of the , with long-term accommodation for three astronauts. According to ReutersChina is exploring the possibility of allowing commercial space flights to visit Tiangong. It has also invited international space agencies to visit the station. The successful launch of Shenzhou-14 caps off a busy week in spaceflight as NASA prepares to test its and Blue Origin flight on Saturday.
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