China's Youngest-Ever Astronaut Crew Departs for Tiangong Space Station

After China's pioneer astronaut Yang Liwei successfully embarked on a space journey in 2003, it marked a significant milestone in history and signified China's emergence as a space superpower. Fast forward twenty years, China has evolved into a prominent player in the realm of space exploration, paralleling its ascending economic, political, and military influence on Earth. Today, China boasts its own established space station, a fully functional outpost that accommodates regular crew rotations for living and working purposes.

On Thursday, the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, carrying three Chinese astronauts. These astronauts, with an average age of 38, make up the youngest crew China has ever sent to space. Their mission aboard the Tiangong space station entails repairing the solar panels that were damaged by space debris, marking the first instance of Chinese astronauts conducting repair work outside the station.

China is embarking on its sixth manned mission to its space station in 2021. The incoming crew will replace the Shenzhou-16 astronauts, who have been residing aboard since May.

Prior to the launch, the crew received a grand send-off, with government officials and supporters lining the road. The three astronauts waved to the enthusiastic crowd, who proudly displayed Chinese flags and flowers. A band played patriotic tunes, and the crowd joined in singing along.

Having embarked on his own journey to space, Yang has subsequently seen off numerous Chinese astronauts on their respective missions. However, the launch on Thursday was particularly poignant, occurring mere days after the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking flight.

"As a seasoned astronaut, my initial observation of this launch is the remarkable progress of China's manned space exploration. In the past two decades, it has advanced rapidly and achieved remarkable milestones," Yang shared with CNN at the Jiuquan center on Wednesday, prior to the launch.

The Tiangong, also known as the "heavenly palace" in Chinese, was completed last year and is one of the two space stations currently in orbit. It has a lifespan of 15 years and may be the only one remaining after the retirement of the NASA-led International Space Station (ISS) in 2030.

China has announced its intention to expand the Tiangong in the future, with plans to add three modules to the existing three. This expansion will allow for more astronauts to stay on board at the same time. Currently, the Tiangong can accommodate a maximum of three astronauts, whereas the ISS can accommodate seven.

Yang expressed his excitement at witnessing a new generation of Chinese "taikonauts" continuing the mission. "I perceive in them the potential of our backup team and the promise for the future growth of China's aerospace sector," he stated. Tang Shengjie, 33, and Jiang Xinlin, 35, both newcomers, were part of the third group of Chinese astronauts who joined just slightly over three years ago.

Leading the team is Tang Hongbo, a 48-year-old who belongs to the second group of astronauts from the country. Tang, a previous fighter jet pilot, participated in China's inaugural crewed mission to its space station in 2021. His journey back to the Tiangong marked a new milestone, achieving the shortest time span between two spaceflight missions for Chinese astronauts.

Chinese astronauts Jiang Xinlin, Tang Shengjie and Tang Hongbo, who will carry out the Shenzhou-17 spaceflight mission, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on October 26.

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Chinas space ambition

Tiangong stands as a testament to China's determination and prowess in space exploration, filling the void left by the exclusion of Chinese astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS), a long-standing partnership between the US, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. Following the passage of the Wolf Amendment in 2011, which stemmed from concerns surrounding espionage, NASA has been prohibited from collaborating with China. This exclusion has played a role in motivating Beijing to construct its own space station.

China aims to enhance cooperation with global collaborators by welcoming experiments from other nations at its station. This opportunity will become particularly attractive once the International Space Station (ISS) concludes its operations, slated for around 2030. Leroy Chiao, a former NASA astronaut and ISS commander, mentioned that NASA has partnered with various private organizations to establish commercial space stations for its astronauts. However, he expressed uncertainty about the outcome of these endeavors.

Other countries have been in communication with China regarding spaceflight, particularly human spaceflight. If China is the only option available, these companies or countries can only participate in human spaceflight until commercially-funded space stations, supported by NASA, are launched and operational," said Chiao. For years, Beijing has utilized its growing strength as a global spacepower to provide partnerships and development opportunities to other nations.

China and the United States are expanding their economic, technological, and geopolitical rivalry from Earth into space, making it a crucial frontier in their quest for global power. After the collapse of the Soviet Union's space program, the US has held a position of unmatched leadership in space. However, in recent years, American observers and politicians have expressed concerns about China's rapidly advancing capabilities, potentially posing a challenge to US dominance.

The concern has grown stronger due to a series of significant and prominent accomplishments by China.

In 2019, China achieved a historic milestone by being the first country to successfully land on the far side of the moon. Just a year later, it accomplished another feat by placing its final Beidou satellite into orbit, posing a potential challenge to the US Global Positioning System (GPS). Adding to its impressive record, in 2021 China became the second country, after the US, to successfully deploy a fully operational rover on Mars.

China's ambitions extend beyond their current achievements. In the upcoming year, they aim to retrieve samples from the previously unexplored far side of the moon. Additionally, by the end of this decade, China intends to send astronauts to the moon and establish an international lunar research station. Several countries, such as Russia, Venezuela, and South Africa, are said to have partnered with China on this lunar station project. According to Chiao, a retired NASA astronaut, the primary obstacle for China's space program is gaining the operational expertise possessed by organizations like NASA.

"We have been operating spacecraft, space shuttles, and space stations for several decades, equipping us with extensive experience and expertise in training astronauts for space operations. This is where they are struggling to match our capabilities," he stated.