On October 14, at 16:23 UTC, a Chinese Long March 2F launched the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft towards the Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station. This high-profile launch was covered live with a slight time delay on state television. Onboard were three astronauts: Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu. After six and a half hours, the trio autonomously docked to the station’s nadir or Earth-facing docking port, the first spacecraft to do so on Tiangong, and opened the hatch from their spacecraft into the station.

They will spend six months onboard the station, doubling the national record set by the crew of Shenzhou 12. Their first order of business will be to unpack the Tianzhou 3 resupply spacecraft which docked after the previous Shenzhou 12 crewed spacecraft departed. Tianzhou 3 contains all the supplies the crew will need for their mission. 

To practice moving around future station modules that will be added in the coming years, the crew will also use the robotic arm to move the Tianzhou 2 resupply spacecraft from one port to another. To further practice station construction, the crew will also perform two to three spacewalks. They will also monitor the health of the astronauts and the station, including its life support system over the six-month mission.

Astronaut Zhigang first flew on Shenzhou 7, Yaping flew on Shenzhou 10 becoming the second Chinese woman in space. She will become the first Chinese woman to fly into space twice and the first to perform a spacewalk. Gangfu is making his first spaceflight. These three were originally assigned as the backup crew for Shenzhou 12.

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CCTV post (Chinese)