China successfully launched the youngest crew to its Tiangogn space station.
The youngest crew to ever visit the Tiangong space station was made up of three Chinese astronauts:
- Tang Hongbo: The captain of the crew, who was on his first return mission to the space station
- Tang Shengjie: 33 years old, making his first trip to space
- Jiang Xinlin: 35 years old, making his first trip to space
The crew launched on the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. They were on a six-month stay. The crew’s average age was 38.
The crew was part of China’s third batch of astronauts, selected in September 2020. They were tasked with conducting the first extravehicular experimental maintenance of the space station
About Tiangogn Space Station
It was built by the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSA) to orbit in low Earth orbit.
♦ It launched three modules that make up the station between 2021 and 2022.
It houses up to three astronauts.
It is expected to have an operational lifespan of over 15 years.
It is much smaller than the International Space Station with only three modules, compared with 16 modules on the ISS.