Three "post-80s", flying "Shen 18"! involving landing on the moon, space tourists, etc., the latest release

  At the press conference of the Shenzhou 18 manned mission held on April 24, Lin Xiqiang, spokesman for the China Manned Space Project and deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, announced that the mission headquarters decided to launch the Shenzhou 18 manned spacecraft at 20:59 on April 25, Beijing time, and the flight crew was composed of astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, with Ye Guangfu as the commander.

At present, the preparations for the mission are progressing steadily, and the Long March-2F Yao-18 rocket for this launch mission is about to be filled with propellant.

The 18 astronauts are all "post-80s"

At the press conference, Lin Xiqiang introduced that the astronaut crew of the Shenzhou 18 manned mission was composed of three astronauts, Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, and Ye Guangfu served as the commander. The crew includes 1 second batch of astronauts and 2 third batch of astronauts, all of whom are "post-80s". Among them, Ye Guangfu has carried out the Shenzhou 13 manned flight mission, and Li Cong and Li Guangsu are both flying missions for the first time.

 April 24 is the ninth "China Space Day", 54 years ago, China's first artificial earth satellite, "Dongfanghong 1", was successfully launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. At 11 o'clock in the morning, the three astronauts will meet with Chinese and foreign media reporters at this important birthplace of China's aerospace industry and the spirit of "two bombs and one satellite."                  

The Shen-17 crew is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on April 30

According to Lin Xiqiang, according to the plan, after the Shenzhou 18 manned spacecraft is put into orbit, it will adopt the autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking mode, and dock with the radial port of the Tianhe core module after about 6.5 hours to form a combination of three ships and three cabins. During their stay in orbit, the Shenzhou-18 astronaut crew will welcome the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-19 manned spacecraft, and are scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in late October this year.

At present, the state of the space station assembly and various equipment are working normally, the quality of the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft and the Long March-2F Yao-18 carrier rocket is under control, the Shenzhou-18 astronaut crew is in good condition, the ground system facilities and equipment are running stably, and all preparations before launch are ready. The Shenzhou-17 astronaut crew is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on the 30th of this month after completing the in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-18 astronaut crew.

The Shen 18 crew will carry out two to three out-of-cabin activities

Lin Xiqiang introduced that the Shenzhou-18 manned mission is the third manned mission in the application and development stage of the space station, and the 32nd mission of the manned space project.

The main purpose of this mission is to complete the in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-17 crew, stay in the space station for about 6 months, carry out space science and application experiments (trials), carry out astronaut out-of-cabin activities and cargo in and out of the capsule, install and recover space debris protection devices on the space station, install and recover extravehicular loads and extravehicular equipment, carry out popular science education and public welfare activities, and space carrying tests, which will further improve the operational efficiency of the space station and continue to play a comprehensive application benefit.

On the basis of the existing space debris protection measures for the space station, the astronaut crew will install debris protection and reinforcement devices on extravehicular pipelines, cables and key equipment through out-of-cabin activities, and carry out extravehicular inspections according to the situation to further ensure the safety of the space station.

The mainland will study the promotion of space tourists to participate in space station flights

According to Lin Xiqiang, in accordance with the national manned space development strategy and closely centering on the needs of manned space flight missions, the mainland astronaut team has gradually developed and expanded: In 1998, the first batch of 14 astronauts from the mainland were selected from among the pilots of the Air Force. In 2010, a second batch of seven astronauts was selected from among the pilots of the Air Force. In 2020, the third batch of astronaut selection will be completed, including a total of 18 astronauts of three different types: astronaut pilots, flight engineers, and payload specialists. At present, the selection of the fourth batch of astronauts is about to be completed.

Lin Xiqiang said that the first batch of astronauts braved hardships and overcame difficulties, successfully completed the first manned flight, the first out-of-cabin activity, the first hand-controlled docking and other landmark tasks of historical significance, and led the second batch of astronauts to make outstanding contributions to the completion of the construction of the space station, which is worthy of respect. After the fourth batch of astronauts joins the team, they will work with the active astronauts to implement the follow-up mission of the space station and realize the landing of Chinese on the moon.

Lin Xiqiang said that in the next step, he will also step up research to promote foreign astronauts and space tourists to participate in the space station flight, and the Chinese space station will definitely usher in more new members with different identities in the near future.

Source: Beijing Evening News