China launched the Long March 2F launch vehicle with the Shenzhou-10 (Shenzhou-10) spacecraft on board, which is to dock with the Tiangong-1 scientific orbital module. The launch was carried out on June 11 from the Chinese Jiuquan Cosmodrome, which is located in Gansu Province on the edge of the Badan Jilin Desert in the lower reaches of the Heihe River. Chinese President Xi Jinping was personally present at the launch of the spacecraft. Before that, he addressed the astronauts with a speech, wished them luck and noted that they are "the pride of the Chinese people, and their mission is sacred and glorious."
The PRC's space exploration program dates back to October 8, 1956. In April 1970, China launched its first artificial Earth satellite, Dongfanghun-1 (Aleet Vostok-1), into orbit. But the first flight into space of a Chinese cosmonaut took place only in the 21st century. In October 2003, the Shenzhou-5 manned spacecraft was launched. The first spacewalk of a Chinese cosmonaut took place at the end of September 2008 as part of the Shenzhou-6 mission. The first female astronaut appeared in China in 2012. She was the 33-year-old major of the Chinese Air Force, Liu Yang, who flew into space aboard the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft. By 2020, China plans to build its own manned space station in Earth orbit and design a space laboratory.
The Shenzhou-10 spacecraft carries 3 astronauts into space: the commander of the mission, 48-year-old Nie Haisheng, 47-year-old Zhang Xiaoguang, and 33-year-old Wang Yaping, who will become the second Chinese astronaut girl. Approximately 10 minutes after the launch, the spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered the specified trajectory of the preliminary orbit; within the next 40 hours, the spacecraft will have to dock with the Tiangong-1 scientific orbital module.
The Chinese space mission provides for a number of tasks to carry out docking in manual and automatic flight modes, as well as various scientific experiments that will help the PRC in the development of near-earth space. The successful launch became the 5th manned program of the Celestial Empire. The mission of the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft is designed for 15 days. It is currently the longest term for a Chinese manned space program.
The primary tasks of the Tiangong-1 scientific orbital module are to test docking with spaceships, as well as to ensure the safety and normal life of astronauts during their short stay in the module. The dispatch of the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft to the Tiangong-1 orbital module is part of China's comprehensive program for the deployment of a space station with a long stay of astronauts. It is expected to be launched in 2020. The orbital station will consist of several modules, in size and mass it will be approximately 6 times inferior to the ISS.
The National Space Administration of China stressed that the successful completion of the docking of Tiangong-1 with Shenzhou-10 will be an important step towards one of the immediate goals of the Chinese space program - the construction of its own space station in orbit. It is reported that the Chinese space station will include 3 compartments. It will be able to dock 2 manned and 1 cargo spacecraft. The entire system is expected to weigh about 90 tons. At the same time, the space station will be designed to accommodate 3 taikonauts who will be able to work on it for 6 months. If necessary, various new modules can always be docked to the space station.
In Russian, the name of the spaceships "Shenzhou" is translated as "Magic boat". The ship, made in China, is similar in many of its parameters to the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, in particular, it has similar dimensions and a similar module layout. Today, the PRC is still lagging behind Russia and the United States, the world leaders in the space industry, but the launch of Shenzhou-10 has become China's fifth manned launch since 2003, when the first taikonaut Yang Liwei went into space.
The entire program of manned space flights in China is being implemented in 3 stages. The first of them included the launch of 2 spacecraft with astronauts on board - "Shenzhou-5" and "Shenzhou-6" in 2003 and 2005, respectively. At the second stage of the program, which is currently being implemented, China is testing the technology of docking spacecraft in Earth orbit. In the third phase of the program, China plans to launch its own space station into space. Moreover, China is not going to turn it into an international space "home". Beijing is going to use the manned space station exclusively for its own needs.
For the first time in the history of China, the manual docking of a satellite with the Tiangong-1 orbital station was performed by the crew of the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, which consisted of 3 taikonauts. The first Chinese female astronaut, Li Yang, took part in that historic flight. Soon, China will become the third country after Russia and the United States to single-handedly launch into space and maintain its own orbital station there. China's progress in the space sector is obvious, gradually the Celestial Empire has become one of the leading space powers. In 2011, China surpassed the United States in the number of space rocket launches: 19 launches against 18, while Russia remains the undisputed leader: it has put 36 rockets into orbit. At the same time, a series of emergency launches with the loss of satellites negatively affected the image of Russia.
Tiangong-1, with which the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft is to dock, will soon be replaced in orbit by the more spacious Tiangong-2 module. And in 2015, China plans to launch an even larger scientific module, Tiangong-3, into Earth's orbit. It is this module that will have to become the core of the future Chinese manned space station.
