Quick return plan to facilitate China's Shenzhou-13 back to Earth in April

(ECNS) -- A rapid return plan will facilitate the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship back to Earth in April as scheduled, said the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) at a press conference on Wednesday.

The Chinese space station is at its second stage and verifying key technologies, according to the 2021 Blue Book of China Aerospace Science and Technology released at the press conference by the CASC.

The situation will be comprehensively evaluated after the Shenzhou-13 crew return to Earth in April, and China will move on to the next stage of space station construction if these key technologies are qualified, said Bai Linhou, deputy chief designer of the space station at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), under the CASC.

The 2022 timetable for China's manned spaceships was also released at the press conference. In this year, the Shenzhou-13 will adopt a fast return plan after its six-month-long stay in space and land at the Dongfeng site in North China's Inner Mongolia, said Shao Limin, deputy technological manager of the manned spaceship project at CAST.

The Shenzhou-14 will support the space station to achieve the rendezvous, docking, and transfer of the Wentian and Mengtian experimental modules, and help the assembly and construction of the space station, Shao added.

China's space station will dock two manned spaceships, enabling the rotation of astronauts in orbit after the launch of Shenzhou-15, said Shao.

Ground control will simultaneously monitor and manage the docking status of the two spaceships while the Shenzhou-16 manned spaceship will be on standby at the launch site as an emergency rescue ship, Zhao added.