On the morning of April 24, a press conference on the Shenzhou-18 manned mission was held at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Lin Xiqiang, spokesman for the China Manned Space Program and deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, said at the meeting that the mainland aims to launch the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft at 20:59 on April 25, and the flight crew is composed of astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu.
■On April 17, the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft and the Long March-2F Yao-18 carrier rocket were transferred to the launch area.
Multiplication
One old with two new, all three are post-80s
Lin Xiqiang introduced that after the study and decision of the mission headquarters, the Shenzhou 18 manned spacecraft will be launched at 20:59 on April 25, and the flight crew will be composed of astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, with Ye Guangfu as the commander. Ye Guangfu has carried out the Shenzhou-13 manned mission, and Li Cong and Li Guangsu are both the third batch of astronauts on the mainland, and they are both flying missions for the first time.
Ye Guangfu
Ye Guangfu
Male, Han nationality, native of Chengdu, Sichuan, master's degree. Born in September 1980, he joined the army in August 1998, joined the Communist Party of China in May 2002, and is currently a first-class astronaut of the astronaut brigade of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with the rank of colonel. He used to be the director of air combat shooting at the headquarters of a certain division and regiment of the Air Force Aviation Corps, and was rated as a first-class pilot of the Air Force. In May 2010, he was selected as the second batch of astronauts in the mainland, carried out the Shenzhou-13 manned mission in October 2021, and was awarded the honorary title of "Heroic Astronaut" by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission in June 2022, and won the "Third-Class Aerospace Merit Medal". After a comprehensive evaluation, he was selected as the crew of the Shenzhou 18 manned mission and served as the commander.
Li Cong
Li Cong
Male, Han nationality, native of Handan, Hebei Province, bachelor's degree. Born in October 1989, he joined the army in September 2009 and joined the Communist Party of China in June 2011, and is currently a fourth-class astronaut of the astronaut brigade of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force. He used to be the deputy captain of the flight group of a brigade of the Air Force and was rated as a second-class pilot of the Air Force. In September 2020, he was selected as the third batch of astronauts in the mainland. After a comprehensive evaluation, he was selected as the crew of the Shenzhou 18 manned mission.
Li Guangsu
Li Guangsu
Male, Han nationality, native of Pei County, Jiangsu, bachelor's degree. Born in July 1987, he joined the army in September 2006, joined the Communist Party of China in June 2011, and is currently a fourth-class astronaut of the astronaut brigade of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Air Force. He used to be the deputy captain of the flight group of a brigade of the Air Force Aviation Corps, and was rated as a first-class pilot of the Air Force. In September 2020, he was selected as the third batch of astronauts in the mainland. After a comprehensive evaluation, he was selected as the crew of the Shenzhou 18 manned mission.
task
Carry out the installation of space debris protection devices on the space station
This 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 the mission is to complete the in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-17 crew, stay on 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, carry out space debris protection device installation, extravehicular load and extravehicular equipment installation and recovery of the space station, carry out popular science education and public welfare activities, and space carrying tests, which will further improve the operation efficiency of the space station and continue to play a comprehensive application benefit.
According to the plan, after the Shenzhou-18 manned spacecraft is put into orbit, it will adopt the autonomous fast rendezvous and docking mode, and dock with the radial port of the Tianhe core module after about 6.5 hours, forming 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.
achievement
The space station has completed more than 130 scientific research and application projects
Lin Xiqiang said that the Shenzhou-17 astronaut crew plans to return to the Dongfeng landing site on April 30 after completing the in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-18 astronaut crew.
During the in-orbit work, the Shenzhou-17 crew carried out a total of 84 on-orbit experiments on space applications, and generated more than 200 samples of more than 60 kinds, involving space life science and biotechnology, aerospace medicine, space materials science and other fields, and will return to the ground with the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft as planned.
Lin Xiqiang introduced that up to now, more than 130 scientific research and application projects have been implemented in orbit, using Shenzhou 12 to Shenzhou 16 manned missions to descend 5 batches of more than 300 scientific experiment samples, more than 500 scientific research institutes at home and abroad have participated in research, and important achievements have been made in space life science, aerospace medicine, space materials science, microgravity fluid physics and other directions, and more than 280 papers have been published in international first-class journals.
"On the whole, the development of these space experiments and the scientific research carried out after the sample is down, and the new results that have been continuously obtained, through the promotion, transformation and application, will gradually play a more important scientific and technological and economic benefits. Lin Xiqiang said.
correlation
The development and construction of a manned lunar landing is proceeding as planned
Lin Xiqiang introduced: "The lunar landing phase of the manned lunar exploration project has been approved by the central government to start implementation, and the overall goal is to achieve Chinese landing on the moon by 2030, and the development and construction of various systems are currently being carried out as planned. ”
At present, the Long March 10 carrier rocket, Mengzhou manned spacecraft, lunar lander, lunar landing suit and other major flight products have completed the program development work, and the production of initial samples and various tests are being carried out in an all-round way. The spacecraft and lander have basically completed the development of mechanical and thermal test products, the rocket is carrying out various types of engine ground test vehicles, the construction of the Wenchang manned lunar exploration and launch site has been fully launched, and the manned lunar rover and lunar surface payload plan are openly solicited from the whole society, and the competition is underway.
"Compared with the space station mission, astronauts in the lunar mission need to be trained to master the operation of the Mengzhou spacecraft and the lunar lander under normal and emergency flight conditions, the lunar surface out/into the capsule, 1/6 gravity conditions of weight-bearing walking, lunar rover long-distance driving, lunar surface drilling, sampling and scientific investigation skills. Lin Xiqiang said that manned lunar exploration is a highly challenging, innovative and leading major scientific and technological project, and we will coordinate the development and construction work to ensure that the mission objectives are achieved as scheduled.
"At present, the selection of the fourth batch of reserve astronauts on the mainland has been basically completed, and relevant information will be officially released to the public soon. Lin Xiqiang said that after the fourth batch of astronauts joined the team, they will work with active astronauts to carry out follow-up missions on the space station and realize the landing of Chinese on the moon.