Cosmic Penguin

Ace of Razgriz on X: "@TAbusnardo yes, over 1 year stay, to be more precise https://t.co/23iulqqYp8" / X @TAbusnardo yes, over 1 year stay, to be more precise https://t.co/23iulqqYp8

Also Shenzhou 22 will have 1 of its crew members going on China's 1st year-long in-space expedition. This will free 1 spot on Shenzhou 23 late next year for a short flight, very likely for the Pakistan astronaut mission.

Ace of Razgriz on X: "Mengzhou manned ship (No man onboard with the first one ) plan to launch by CZ-10A at Wenchang LC next year to dock with CSS. https://t.co/cxYxZS78dW" / X Mengzhou manned ship (No man onboard with the first one ) plan to launch by CZ-10A at Wenchang LC next year to dock with CSS. https://t.co/cxYxZS78dW

So Mengzhou-1 (MZ-1) WILL fly and dock to the CSS then (Tianhe module nadir port). As w/ similar US S/C test flights it will carry cargo up & down (most likely including the 2 old Chinese EVA suits that will be replaced soon).

Long March 2F rocket and the Shenzhou 21 crew shoots past the Moon: m.weibo.cn/detail/52279...

More photos: m.weibo.cn/detail/52279...

CMSEO has reported that Shenzhou 21 has docked to the front port of CSS's Tianhe module at 19:22 UTC, 3 hours & 28 minutes after liftoff.

Exact T-0 was 15:44:46.441 UTC:

YouTube video by CCTV Video News Agency LIVE: Launch of China's Shenzhou-21 Manned Spacecraft

Hatch is now closed at T-1 hour: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIHQ...

YouTube video by International Rocket Launches Live: Long March 2F Shenzhou-21 Launch (No Commentary)

And for mirroring of the Chinese one (crew ingress is currently underway): www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCJy...

YouTube video by CGTN Live: Special coverage of send-off ceremony for Shenzhou-21 manned spaceship crew

Back to Shenzhou 21, the official English live coverage will be here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj8o...

And here's the next one - it's apparently going to be a "fun" November at Wenchang with multiple launches, and the 1st is another LM-7A going for a rare daytime launch due east (GTO bound?) on November 3rd ~03:45 UTC with, uh, something. The rocket apparently rolled out right as I type this!

At the launch pad at JSLC where it will launch into late night later today:

Another set of LM-2F roll-out photos: m.weibo.cn/detail/52252...

As usual there should be live coverage and I'll post after some sleep.

This set of photos: m.weibo.cn/detail/52252...

It's yet another time for what's now already the 10th crew expedition to the CSS to fly in less than 10 hours from now. Time really has flown since the first module went up huh?

WLR2678🌌 on X: "#Shenzhou21 press conference: #Mengzhou-1 patch design public contest coming up next year" / X #Shenzhou21 press conference: #Mengzhou-1 patch design public contest coming up next year

On the crew lunar landing front:
* Still repeating the "before 2030" target
* Next key milestones: integrated tests for Lanyue lunar lander, vacuum chamber & Max-Q LAS tests for Mengzhou, LM-10(A) hopper tests then LM-10A first launch

Other news:
* T-0 15:44 UTC October 31 (SZ-20 will BTW come back Nov. 5 ~12:30 UTC)
* 3.5 h rendezvous profile
* Current pair of CSS EVA suits close to retirement after 20 uses & will come back on a "New Gen. S/C"
* This time's in-focus science experiment is breeding rodents...

WLR2678🌌 on X: "CZ-10A likely to debut next year with Mengzhou-1 onboard." / X CZ-10A likely to debut next year with Mengzhou-1 onboard.

I wonder if it will head directly to the CSS for its first flight, given this is in the "LEO configuration"...

Official astronauts biography for those who need it - payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang is a high energy battery storage researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences BTW.

It seems that CAST engineer Wu Fei might have broken the record for youngest long term space station expedition member for at least a long time, if not all time, at only 32 years old!
(that's just older than when Hayley Arceneaux & Sarah Gillis flew their missions)

China 'N Asia Spaceflight 🚀𝕏 🛰️ on X: "Meet Shenzhou-21 crew: ZHANG Lu (C), commander, Shenzhou-15 veteran WU Fei (R), flight engineer, former CASC engineer ZHANG Hongzhang (L), payload specialist, battery research scientist at CAS https://t.co/kulYsEOhRY" / X Meet Shenzhou-21 crew: ZHANG Lu (C), commander, Shenzhou-15 veteran WU Fei (R), flight engineer, former CASC engineer ZHANG Hongzhang (L), payload specialist, battery research scientist at CAS https://t.co/kulYsEOhRY

A bit late to the news but here's the Shenzhou 21 crew - Zhang Lu is back after Shenzhou 15 and the rookies both work in engineering:
x.com/CNSpacefligh...

I mean, we don't know for real sure how many times these LCC satellite models are matched with reality, especially for classified payloads like this. A good match goes a long way for identifying even more classified ones like the TJSW series.

Actually I don't know if HEO knew this, but state TV news reports back then did show the satellite's model on the LCC's main screen...
x.com/Cosmic_Pengu...

This "Chinese orbital thingy" was the main payload of the first launch of the Long March 8 rocket on December 21st, 2020.

Like its inspiration source the Ariane 4, the Long March 3 series' Polar/Low Earth Orbit missions will be few and far in between...if there's still one in the plans.

Interesting to see that the LM-3B's not exactly efficient for LEO missions - this uses the SSO-optimized "G5" sub-variant w/ longer fairings w/ capability of 4.5 tonnes to 500 km SSO - "only" Antares class and now easily replaced by the LM-8 series. Old launch contract maybe?

In the end the answer was a bit boring, if still intriguing. The thing on top that successfully launched at 03:55 UTC is simply Gaofen 14's replacement, Gaofen 14-02.
Like its predecessor, this is a semi-classified satellite described as for obtaining global high-res 3D images.

Back in Xichang, whatever shocking thing sitting on top is now on its way with local window shaking reports confirming a launch did happen:

Also tangentially related between Shenzhou 21 & future Chinese crew lunar missions is the timing's right (many Chinese spaceflight fans are guessing October 2029's the target, landing for 80th anniversary of the PRC sounds cool) for some members of this to fly to the Moon next.

After all, even w/o seeing what potential problems are being faced on the Chinese Boots On Moon effort, that the US government seems to be panicking on that feels...strange.

That even extends to LEO crew research. Who's not to say there will be days the CSS' only station in town?

The even bigger irony is that the next (known) Chinese launch after this is none other than Shenzhou 21 heading to the CSS on October 31 (~15:44 UTC)!
At a time when US Space Policy is blown to complete chaos, suddenly even regular Chinese station expeditions feels like something big.