It’s confirmed! Launch will take place at 9:31 a.m. tomorrow, and the astronaut crew has been announced!

On May 29, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced that, after research and decision by the Space Station Application and Development Phase Flight Mission Headquarters, the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft will be launched at 9:31 a.m. Beijing time on May 30. The flight crew will be composed of astronauts Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao, with Jing Haipeng serving as the commander.

▲ Astronaut Jing Haipeng

▲ Astronaut Zhu Yangzhu

▲ Astronaut Gui Haichao

(Photo source: Xinhua News Agency Weibo)

This is the first time that my country's third batch of astronauts will carry out a flight mission, and it is also the "debut" of the "new members" of my country's astronaut team - space flight engineers and payload experts.

The Shenzhou 16 crew is the first crew to be welcomed by China's space station as it enters the application and development stage.

Among them, space pilot Jing Haipeng and space flight engineer Zhu Yangzhu are from the Astronaut Corps and are mainly responsible for directly operating and managing spacecraft and conducting related technical experiments. Payload expert Gui Haichao is a professor at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is mainly responsible for the on-orbit operation of space science experimental payloads. He has received professional training in science, aerospace engineering and other fields and has rich operating experience.

At 9:31 tomorrow, a new crew consisting of three types of astronauts will set off into space to carry out the first manned flight mission in the space station's application and development phase.

Compared with previous crews, the Shenzhou-16 crew has three characteristics:

“Full”: For the first time, it includes three types of astronauts: “space pilot, space flight engineer, and payload specialist”;

“New”: The third group of astronauts will fly for the first time, and it is also the first flight of flight engineers and payload specialists;

"More": Astronaut Jing Haipeng is carrying out his fourth flight mission, making him the Chinese astronaut who has flown the most times so far. In the future, there will definitely be more and more "newcomers" selected to be part of the flight crew and continue to carry out manned space flight missions.

The Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft mission is the second flight mission of the manned space program this year and the first manned flight mission of the space station application and development project. The main objectives of the mission are: to complete the in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou 15 crew, to stay for about 5 months, to carry out in-orbit experiments (tests) on space science and application payloads, to implement astronaut extravehicular activities and cargo airlock extravehicular activities, to install extravehicular payloads and to carry out space station maintenance and repair.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft will adopt an autonomous rapid rendezvous and docking mode to dock with the radial port of the Tianhe core module, forming a three-module and three-ship combination. During its stay in orbit, the Shenzhou 16 astronaut crew will welcome the visit and docking of the Shenzhou 17 manned spacecraft, and is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in November this year.

At present, the status of the space station assembly and all equipment are working normally, the product quality of the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft and the Long March 2F Yao 16 carrier rocket is under control, the Shenzhou 16 astronaut crew is in good condition, the ground system facilities and equipment are operating stably, and all preparations before launch have been completed.

The Shenzhou 15 astronaut crew returned to the Dongfeng landing site after completing the in-orbit rotation mission with the Shenzhou 16 astronaut crew.

Comprehensive sources: Xinhua News Agency, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Beijing Daily, etc.