Chinese rocket successfully launched to space station | Science & Planet

The three taikonauts, as Chinese astronauts are called, could be seen through a camera in the cockpit. They appeared silent during the launch, despite the high G-force. A camera was also placed outside the Shenzhou-13, which clearly showed the launch. Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng attended the launch.

The three astronauts will return to Earth in April of next year. Until then, they will be working on the Chinese space station. The Celestial Palace now consists of a tube 16 meters long and 4 meters wide. Two more pieces will be sent to the space station next year. They are called Wentian (search for paradise) and Mengtian (dreams of paradise).

In June, the first three Chinese astronauts visited the station. They have carried out a number of spacewalks, including to install a robotic arm outside the complex. In September, the crew returned to Earth.

China is particularly ambitious. The country first sent someone to space in 2003. It was the third successful country after the Soviet Union / Russia and the United States. Earlier this year, the country successfully put an unmanned cart on Mars. In 2019, China was the first to land on the far side of the moon. Other countries prefer to do such projects with others, but China prefers to work alone.