Imminent take-off for the first crew of the Chinese space station

We remember: a few weeks ago, the return to Earth of the main stage of a Chinese rocket had caused a stir ... before we learned that it had finished its fall in the Indian Ocean.

The unpredictable conditions of this atmospheric re-entry had eclipsed the successful objective of the launch: to orbit Tianhe, the first "brick" of CSS, the Chinese space station!

This week, China intends to send its first three astronauts there, for a three-month stay on board.

An unprecedented flight time for the country, which is launching its first manned mission in five years.

China confirmed the date and time for take-off from the Gobi Desert on Wednesday: Thursday morning at 3:22 a.m. KST. First scheduled for June 10, the departure was postponed following the late docking at the end of May of a cargo vessel that delivered, according to the New China State News Agency, "supplies, equipment and supplies. propellant ”at the station. Last Wednesday, the agency announced that Shenzhou-12, the three-passenger ship, and the Long March rocket had arrived at the launch pad. The crew composition announcement was only officially made on Wednesday, confirming the name of Nie Haisheng, a 56-year-old astronaut who has already taken part in two missions, as commander. He will be accompanied by Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo.

The three astronauts will have to test the station's equipment, carry out scientific experiments, raise public awareness and monitor their health, according to China New.

Two spacewalks are also planned.

"Their work will be more complicated and more difficult than in previous crewed missions," warned Hao Chun, director of China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

A continued presence in 2022

So far, eleven Chinese men and women have left for space. A majority of them have flown in two prototypes of the space station launched in the past decade. Today, the time has passed for baby steps: aboard the final station, also called Tiangong, the presence of taikonauts should be continuous from spring 2022. CSS will also have its next year. must be completed, after sending two laboratories.

The station's main module, Tianhe, bears a striking resemblance to Mir, the space station that orbiting the Earth between 1986 and 2001. “As usual, they've done

Chinese-style

, in looking at the functionalities that have proven their reliability, by doing something that responds more to the state of the art of the moment and to their needs, ”analyzed Philippe Coué, independent researcher and author, for Le Parisien.

The European Space Agency (ESA) hopes one day to send its own astronauts to the CSS. "In 2015, we signed an agreement, unanimously accepted by the Member States, to fly European astronauts in the station, but the discussions have not yet been conclusive", explains Karl Bergquist, head of external relations at the station. 'agency. Several Europeans had started to learn Mandarin intensively. Joint exercises had taken place in caves in Italy and China. But in a very multilateral sector, growing tensions between China and the United States seem to have put the project on hold.

For the Asian country, Thursday's take-off is part of a prosperous sequence, which coincides with the hundred years of the Chinese Communist Party: return of lunar samples in December, landing of the Zhurong robot on Mars in May ... A series of events greeted by Karl Bergquist: “It’s very impressive! "