China continues to position itself as a major player in the conquest of space.

The success of the new mission on Thursday is even a matter of prestige for Beijing, which is preparing to celebrate on July 1 the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Three Chinese astronauts took off to the “Heavenly Palace” that Beijing is assembling in front of the International Space Station (ISS).

At the scheduled time, the Long-March 2F rocket left its launch pad at the Jiuquan space launch center at 9:22 a.m. in the Gobi desert.

This is the first manned flight for China in nearly five years and a record time in space in perspective for the Asian giant: the three astronauts will stay three months in orbit.

A station similar in size to the former Soviet station Mir

The three soldiers took their places aboard the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft which will dock with the only module of the station already in space. Control center and home for astronauts, this module was placed at the end of April in low earth orbit (at an altitude of 350-390 km). On board, they will not be idle: maintenance, installation of equipment, spacewalks, preparation of upcoming construction missions and stays of future crews.

Called Tiangong ("Heavenly Palace"), the Chinese space station, when completed, will be similar in size to the former Soviet Mir station (1986-2001). Its lifespan will be at least 10 years. China resolved to build its own station in space after the United States refused to let it participate in the ISS. The latter, which brings together the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan, is due to retire in 2024, even if NASA has mentioned a possible extension beyond 2028.

In this opposition with the West, the mission of this Thursday has above all a patriotic aspect.

Just before their departure, the mission commander, Nie Haisheng, accompanied by Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, thus said goodbye to their relatives and colleagues during a ceremony during which an old revolutionary refrain resounded: " No new China without the Communist Party ”.

Nie Haisheng, who has already completed two space flights, also underlined this patriotic dimension of the operation: “For decades, we have written glorious chapters in Chinese space history and our mission embodies the expectations of the people and the Party itself ”.

Space competition is therefore well underway.

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