China Has Sent 6 Astronauts To Space For The First Time

China's history of running a space program runs as far back as the ‘70's. Although their space program oversees the launch and deployment of different projects, China has always wanted to compete with its own projects regarding space discovery. Recently, the nation made great strides in these areas. 

These include the launch of artificial satellites sent into orbit, the launch of ballistic missiles, and having their astronauts manning their space station. Usually, only three astronauts are sent into orbit during any given operation. However, a fantastic and record-breaking event has happened. China has sent six astronauts to space for the first time.

China's space station is called Tiangong, which means "heavenly place"

China's space station, Tiangong, has been in low Earth orbit, where it travels and sits comfortably between 210 and 280 miles from the surface of the Earth. Although it may not sound like much compared to some other space adventures, it's still a massive record for China. Tiangong was China's first attempt at having its own space station in orbit, and its construction started in 2011. It only successfully launched in April of the same year, with the astronauts calling it their home later in June. Tiangong has been manned by only three people for the last decade, with the astronauts carrying out duties, which include carrying out many experiments done by China and other countries.

A shift change saw a record-breaking number of Chinese astronauts

Since 2011 there have only been three astronauts that have been working on the space station. Although this must be an exciting project, it was all about to change in November 2022. The astronauts that were in Tiangong were due to come home. Still, they needed someone to take over their work. With the new crew members taking over their shift, a record-breaking six Chinese astronauts were on the Tiangong in orbit for the very first time in history.

Three new astronauts takes China’s numbers up to six in total

Astronauts Den Qingming, Fei Junlog, and Zhang Lu arrived at the space station at 6:33 pm EST as they stepped out into their record-making mission. Apparently, the new astronauts were all greeted with hugs, particularly as they were the first faces many of the crew working on Tiangong have seen in what feels like an eternity. Apparently, it took the new crew six-and-a-half hours from takeoff to landing on the space station on November 29, 2022, where they were immediately in charge of learning the ropes.

Chinese media described it as an extraordinary "space reunion," which they have been waiting for for a long time. All in all, it was a wonderful day in the history of Chinese space exploration. For the first time ever, the Tiangong space station was manned by six astronauts, which could spell some huge breakthroughs.