China sends first civilian astronaut to space

Kathmandu: China sent its first civilian astronaut into orbit on Tuesday, marking another step forward for the country’s ambitious space program.

The three Shenzhou-16 astronauts blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the desert of China’s Gansu province at 9:31 a.m. on Tuesday morning, headed for the Tiangong space station.

The spaceship will conduct a fast automated rendezvous once in orbit and dock at the radial port of the Tianhe core module, forming a combination of three modules and three spaceships.

The Shenzhou-16 mission is crewed by three Chinese astronauts. Among the Shenzhou-16 crew, Gui, a professor at China’s prestigious aeronautics institution Beihang University who pursued his postdoctoral studies in Canada, is the first Chinese civilian to be on a spaceflight. All other astronauts have been members of China’s People’s Liberation Army.

Jing Haipeng, who became the first taikonaut to go into space for a fourth time with this mission, serves as the commander and spacecraft pilot. Previously, the veteran has participated in the Shenzhou-7, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-11 manned missions, and served as commander in the last two missions.

Zhu Yangzhu, a former university teacher with a doctoral degree, fulfills the role of the space flight engineer. Zhu will be the first flight engineer entering China’s space station.