Historic Space Station Kicks Off with Its Very First Astronauts!

A crew of three astronauts made their way to China’s brand new space station as its first long-term inhabitants, and the President of the Republic applauded this landmark scientific venture as part of the party’s centennial celebrations.

“You will spend three months in space and, while in space, your work and your life there will be in the hearts of the Chinese public,” says President Xi Jinping during the five-minute call to the three astronauts. “Establishing our own space station is an important milestone and a significant contribution to humankind’s peaceful use of space.”

Before the Tiangong – which translates to “heavenly palace” – became a space station, it was a small space lab, where 2 astronauts spent 33 days in 2016 for testing and maintenance purposes. This time around, the now-space station’s first astronauts will manage a far larger and more complex facility, marking an exciting feat for the nation. Being the largest structure built and maintained by a single country, Tiangong is a rival station of the International Space Station backed by the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada, and Japan.