Ceremony to bid Shenzhou 11 astronauts farewell
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Astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong wave hands to the public at a see-off ceremony three hours before the launch of Shenzhou-11 spacecraft. [Photo: Xinhua]

A small ceremony has taken place at 4:30 a.m. on Monday to bid farewell to the astronauts of Shenzhou-11 spacecraft as they head off on their adventure.

The ceremony has taken place just outside the Wentian pavilion - a compound where the astronauts have been living and training for the past several years.

Although the temperatures have dropped close to the freezing mark as of 4:30 in the morning in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, hundreds have still gathered to help send off astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong.

Dressed in their space suits, the astronauts walked out of the compound and waved to the onlookers, their family members, colleagues, engineers, scientists and everyone else who has been working to make the Shenzhou-11 mission possible.

The astronauts also stopped for a moment to salute Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, confirming they are fully prepared for their mission.

"We are now ready for the Shenzhou 11 mission, and to rendezvou with Tiangong 2. I am astronaut Jing Haipeng, please give me your instructions."

"Depart!"

And with that, the astronauts were then escorted to their transport, taking them directly to the launch pad.

In around three hours, provided all is working well, the astronauts will be sent into space on a Long March 2F rocket.

Once in orbit, the Shenzhou-11 will dock with the Tiangong 2 space lab after Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong spend a couple of days in orbit.

Once docked, both will spend 30 days onboard Tiangong-2 before returning home.

For 50-year-old mission commander Jing Haipeng, this is his third spaceflight following the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008 and Shenzhou-9 mission in 2012.

His younger partner, 37-year-old Chen Dong is making his first foray into space after some 6-years of rigorous training.

The two are scheduled to conduct a series of experiments, including testing the latest in China's advanced life support systems, as well as scientific research and medical tests to determine the impact of extended space missions on the human body.

 

Author： 　　　Source：CRI　　　 Editor：Yang Fan