Astronaut launch

China launches regular astronaut team on 'Shenzhou-21' mission

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Thursday (Oct. 30), the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced the list of the Shenzhou-21 (Shenzhou-21) mission astronaut team, namely Zhang Lu, Wufei and Zhang Hongzhang, with Zhang Lu to assume command.

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According to Zhangjingbo, a spokesman for the organization, the Shenzhou-21 manned spacecraft will be launched into deep space from the Jiuqian Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 11.44 pm on Friday (Oct. 31) Beijing time, with the three-person astronaut team consisting of the spacecraft controller pilot, the routine flight engineer, and the payload equipment expert, representing China's three types of astronauts today.

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Zhang Lu was one of the crews of the Shenzhou-15 mission, while Wufei and Zhang Hongzhang, who were among China's 3rd generation astronauts, will be flying into space for the first time on this mission.

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Before being recruited as an astronaut, Wufei was an engineer at the China Institute of Space Technology, affiliated with the China National Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), while Zhang Hongzhang was a researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, affiliated with the Chinese Graduate Institute of Science.

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(Photo from Xinhua News Agency: The Shenzhou-21 mission astronaut team includes Zhang Hongzhang (left), Zhang Lu (center) and Wu Fei).