China launches 2 astronauts for 33-day missionChina Manned Space Engineering Agencythe missing linkby Morris Jones Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!File image of a Shenzhou CZ-2F launch. Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 17, 2016 The successful launch of China's Shenzhou 11 spacecraft is worth cheering, but it's just the opening move in a major mission for this nation's space program. This will be China's longest human space mission to date. For most of this time, Shenzhou 11 will be docked with the Tiangong 2 space laboratory. The two astronauts aboard Shenzhou 11 will spend most of this period living aboard Tiangong but will periodically return to Shenzhou for cargo transfer and other tasks. In total, the flight time of Shenzhou 11 will be more than a month. There is no question that the crew of Shenzhou 11 are up to the task. China's astronauts are "right stuff" material, with excellent levels of physical and mental performance. More issues will surround the Shenzhou spacecraft itself, which is now being stretched to performance levels it has never previously experienced with a crew aboard. more at http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Breaking_Records_on_Shenzhou_11_999.html
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Chinese_astronauts_reach_orbiting_lab_Xinhua_999.html Chinese astronauts reach orbiting lab: Xinhuaby Staff WritersBeijing (AFP) Oct 19, 2016 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!Two Chinese astronauts entered the country's new orbiting space laboratory for the first time on Wednesday, state media reported, as Beijing works towards having its own space station. Mission commander Jing Haipeng was first to float into the Tiangong-2 ("Heavenly Palace") lab, the official Xinhua news agency said, followed by Chen Dong. The pair "extended greetings to all the people of the nation", it said. Their Shenzhou-11 ("Divine Vessel") mission is scheduled to see them stay on board for 30 days -- the longest stay thus far by Chinese astronauts -- carrying out experiments before returning to Earth. more at link.................
