DOCKING CONFIRMED: Watch the blazing fast Shenzhou-16 docking to Tiangong, envy of the world

JUST IN: China’s Shenzhou-16 spaceship docks with space station combination China’s Shenzhou-16 spaceship, with three astronauts aboard, docked with the country’s space station combination at 4:29 p.m. Beijing Time on Tuesday, finishing another important step of the country’s latest manned space mission, confirmed China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). It took six autonomous orbit adjustments and about six and a half hours to complete the autonomous fast docking process and was the most difficult docking to date. Shenzhou-16’s docking with the China Space Station was harder than previous Shenzhou missions because of the station’s colossal size and mass, which exceeded 100 metric tonnes. This is the first time China performed radial docking after the T-shaped station was assembled. They used new dampers to reduce the impact on both the spaceship and the station. The Shenzhou-16 and Shenzhou-15 crews will work together for 5 days before the old crew returns to earth. #Shenzhou16 #Shenzhoudocking #ChinaSpace