Published : 2024-06-17
On June 17, 2021, three Chinese astronauts, Nie Haisheng (聶海勝), Liu Boming (劉伯明), and Tang Hongbo (湯洪波), were launched into space aboard the Shenzhou-12 (神舟十二號) manned spacecraft.
Shenzhou-12 successfully docked with the Tianhe (天和) core module on the same day, which means China's Tiangong Space Station had its first group of visitors.
At 9:22 am that day, the Long March-2F Y12 rocket carrying the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft was launched successfully.
Approximately 573 seconds later, the Shenzhou-12 separated from the rocket and entered a predefined orbit, sending the three astronauts into space.
At 3:54 pm, the Shenzhou-12, using an autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking mode, successfully docked and locked onto the forward end of the Tianhe core module of the Chinese Space Station.
Subsequently, the astronauts from Shenzhou-12 moved from the spacecraft's return capsule into the orbital module, and upon completion of all necessary preparations, entered the Tianhe core module.
The mission of Shenzhou-12 marked the first time that Chinese nationals entered their own space station, where the three astronauts stayed for three months conducting activities such as operating the mechanical arm, space walks, and verifying a series of key technologies such as long-duration orbital stays and life support system.
