This undated photo shows Shenzhou-21 crew members Zhang Lu (C), Wu Fei (R) and Zhang Hongzhang. Chinese astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang will carry out the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhang Lu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Thursday. (Xinhua)
JIUQUAN, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang will carry out the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhang Lu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Thursday.
The Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:44 p.m. Friday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, said Zhang Jingbo, spokesperson of the agency.
The three astronauts are space pilot, flight engineer and payload specialist, respectively, representing the three types of Chinese astronauts in service, he added.
Zhang Lu was a crew member of the Shenzhou-15 mission. Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, both from the third batch of Chinese astronauts, will carry out the spaceflight mission for the first time.
Before being selected as an astronaut, Wu Fei was an engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and Zhang Hongzhang was a researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
This mission is the sixth manned flight mission since the space station entered the application and development phase, and the 37th flight of China's manned spaceflight program.
The Shenzhou-21 astronauts will complete in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-20 crew, and stay in the space station for about six months, according to the spokesperson.
The new crew will carry out work on space science and application, perform extravehicular activities and cargo handling, install space debris protection devices, deploy and recover extravehicular payloads and equipment. They will also participate in science education and public welfare activities, and conduct in-orbit experiments.
During their stay in orbit, the Shenzhou-21 crew will welcome the Tianzhou-10 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-22 crewed spaceship.
The Shenzhou-20 crew will return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after completing the in-orbit handover with the Shenzhou-21 crew, the spokesperson added.
This undated photo shows Shenzhou-21 crew member Zhang Lu. Chinese astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang will carry out the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhang Lu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Thursday. (Xinhua)
This undated photo shows Shenzhou-21 crew member Wu Fei. Chinese astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang will carry out the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhang Lu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Thursday. (Xinhua)
This undated photo shows Shenzhou-21 crew member Zhang Hongzhang. Chinese astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang will carry out the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhang Lu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Thursday. (Xinhua)
