The Chinese Shenzhou-15 spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong space station

As reported by Xinhua with reference to CMSA (China Manned Space Agency), the Shenzhou-15 spacecraft docked with the Chinese space station Tiangong. This is the first time that Chinese astronauts aboard the space station have witnessed the arrival of another manned spacecraft.

Shenzhou-15, which was launched by a Long March-2F Y15 launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome (Northwest China) on November 29, 2022 at 23:08 Beijing time, made an automatic approach and docked with the Tianhe module docking station of the Tiangong station at 05:42 Beijing time, CMSA said. The entire process of approach and docking lasted about six and a half hours, after which the crew of Shenzhou-15 entered the Tianhe module, where they were met by members of the previous mission – Shenzhou-14.

The Shenzhou-14 crew has been in space for 178 days and they have been observing and assisting in the completion of the Tiangong station, accepting the Wentian and Mengtian laboratory modules on July 24 and October 31, 2022, respectively.

There are currently 13 earthlings in space – 3 American astronauts, three Russians and one Japanese on the ISS and 6 taikonauts at Tiangong Station. But it’s not a record, the formal record is the stay in space of 19 people, which took place on December 11, 2021, when the Blue Origin NS-19 capsule with six tourists on board rose above the Kármán line for a few minutes.