Successful launch of Shenzhou-14 draws worldwide attention

Screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on June 5, 2022 shows three Chinese astronauts, Chen Dong (C), Liu Yang (R) and Cai Xuzhe, saluting after entering the space station core module Tianhe. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

The successful launch of the crewed spaceship Shenzhou-14 was reported by several international media outlets as worldwide observers called it a new step in China's efforts to complete its own space station and explore space.

On Sunday, three Chinese astronauts onboard the Shenzhou-14 spaceship were sent to space and entered the country's space station core module Tianhe. This is the 23rd flight mission since the approval and launch of the country's manned space program and the third crewed mission for China's space station project.

The flight of the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station marked the beginning of a decade during which Chinese astronauts will constantly live and work in low-orbit Earth, Russia's Regnum news agency reported.

The Moscow Komsomolets newspaper detailed China's plans to build the Tiangong space station.

Noting that China has successfully sent another team of astronauts into space to complete its space station, Germany's DPA reported the space station underpins China's aspirations to catch up with the world's major manned spaceflight nations. China's space program has already achieved some successes, it added.

Croatian astronomer Ante Radonic said in an interview with Xinhua that the successful launch shows that China's manned spaceflight technology is mature and everything is going according to schedule.

The construction of China's space station would be completed soon, the astronomer said.

Noting that China is the third country in the world capable of independently carrying out manned spaceflight activities, Radonic said that China's manned spaceflight program already holds a leading position globally, and the space station program further demonstrates the rapid development of China's manned spaceflight technology.

South Korea's mainstream media, including Yonhap news agency and KBS, also reported on the launch.

China's space station has drawn wide attention, Yonhap news agency said, adding that if the International Space Station is decommissioned, China's Tiangong space station would be the world's only space station.