At 11:44 p.m. on October 31, the Long March-2F carrier rocket was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It carried astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang aboard the Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft to the China Space Station. The crew will join the Shenzhou-20 team already in orbit to conduct a crew handover and commence a six-month space mission.
The Long March-2F carrier rocket was successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, sending astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang aboard the Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft to the China Space Station. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
This mission includes a 3.5-hour rapid rendezvous and docking procedure, the fastest docking method currently employed by China’s crewed spacecraft. This maneuver demands extremely high precision in orbital insertion, as the spacecraft must be placed on a “fast track” orbit closely matches the station’s trajectory to ensure accurate docking.
For this mission, the Long March-2F rocket incorporated a dual optical inertial measurement unit, a technology validated in several active launch vehicle models. This advancement improves the rocket’s control accuracy, meeting the stringent precision requirements of the 3.5-hour fast rendezvous mission.
The Long March-2F rocket and the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft were developed under the overall responsibility of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and the China Academy of Space Technology, both subsidiaries of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. This launch marks the 604th flight of the Long March carrier rocket series.
(Executive editor: Yuan Ting)
