On April 17, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft and the Long March-2F Yao-18 carrier rocket combination completed the vertical transfer work, officially standing on the launch site, after inspection and joint test work, it will be launched at the right time, with three astronauts straight to the space station, six astronauts will meet in space in the future!
The youngest crew will return to Earth
On October 26, 2023, the Shenzhou-17 manned spacecraft was launched, and three astronauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin went to space to carry out mission handover with the Shenzhou-16 crew in orbit and launched a six-month flight mission.
The crew, Tang Hongbo, who served as commander, was the first person to return to Tiangong in China's manned space flight, having previously flown the Shenzhou-12 manned mission, which was also the first manned launch of China's space station mission. After a space flight experience, under the leadership of the old-timers Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming, the mission was successfully completed, and in the Shenzhou 17 manned mission, Tang Hongbo has grown up to lead the team independently.
The astronauts 02 and 03 are the third batch of Chinese astronauts, and they are relatively young in age, both close to the post-90s, so the Shenzhou 17 manned flight crew is also known as the youngest crew in history. The three astronauts have already carried out two very crucial out-of-cabin spacewalks during their time in orbit and completed the extravehicular maintenance experiment of the space station, which is also the first time for China's manned spaceflight. Now the Shenzhou-17 crew has almost completed six months of space flight and is about to return to Earth!
Shenzhou 18 was launched at the right time, and the 3 astronauts are worth looking forward to
Of course, before the three astronauts return to Earth, they will have to welcome their comrades in orbit, and the six astronauts will meet in orbit. According to the latest news from China's manned space flight, the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft and the Long March-2F Yao-18 carrier rocket assembly have completed the vertical transfer work and will be launched at the right time! Judging from the orbital altitude adjustment of the space station, the launch of Shenzhou-18 will most likely take place on the evening of 25 April!
The three astronaut crews of the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft have already been determined, and they will meet the public on the eve of the launch.
According to the composition of the Shenzhou 17 crew, the instructions of the Shenzhou 18 crew can be locked in general, because Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu have carried out the Shenzhou 13 flight mission as the second batch of astronauts, so in the rolling mode, Ye Guangfu will become the commander of the Shenzhou 18.
So why can't Wang Yaping be the first female commander? In fact, it was more likely when I first guessed, but Wang Yaping has made many public appearances to participate in activities, which can confirm that Wang Yaping will not participate in the two manned missions in 2024, Shenzhou 18 and Shenzhou 19!
The 02 and 03 astronauts of Shenzhou 18 will also be served by China's second batch of astronauts, and there will be new faces again, and there are female astronauts in China's third batch of astronauts, which means that there may be female astronauts in the Shenzhou 18 crew, which is worth looking forward to!
Two manned spacecraft are on standby for the expedition
In fact, the Shenzhou 18 manned spacecraft will be on standby when Shenzhou 17 is launched in October 2023, and it is always ready!
Therefore, at present, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, there are two manned spacecraft on standby, Shenzhou 18 is the main master, and according to the plan, it will take three astronauts to the Chinese space station.
After Shenzhou-18 is launched into orbit, the six astronauts will fly in orbit for a total of 5-10 days, and Shenzhou-17 will return to the Dongfeng landing site as planned. At the same time, the Shenzhou-19 manned spacecraft will also be prepared one after another, and it will take over in October 2024!
Say it at the end
The development of China's manned spaceflight is very rapid, especially after the completion of the construction of China's space station and the official operation, the twice-a-year manned launch mission has also become a routine, 365 days a year, Chinese astronauts are stationed on the space station every day to complete the mission.
Not only that, before 2030, China will also carry out manned landing on the moon, from near-earth space flight to deep space manned flight, manned landing on the moon and finally even manned landing on Mars, the space dream is gradually being realized, China's manned spaceflight is worth looking forward to!
文/奇点三分钟，图片来源网络侵删。