300 days in space & two rockets out at Wenchang!
300 days in space & two rockets out at Wenchang!
Ye Guangfu has surpassed 300 days in space, and two vehicles are on their respective launchpads at Wenchang.
As part of the Shenzhou-18 mission, Ye Guangfu has surpassed a total time in space of 300 days. This milestone was passed on August 21st as part of Ye’s second mission onboard the Tiangong Space Station.
The Shenzhou-18 mission has been underway since April 25th of this year, with it expected to conclude in October. Ye Guangfu’s first mission was Shenzhou-13 which lasted 182 days back in 2021, from October 2021 to April 2022.
Ye Guangfu also became the Taikonaut with the longest total time in space twenty days ago, passing Tang Hongbo’s almost 281 days. Tang Hongbo surpassed Chen Dong’s 214 days back in Early 2024 to achieve the number one spot.
When the Shenzhou-18 mission ends in late October, Ye Guangfu will have spent a total of approximately 360 days in space, possibly an entire year, depending on when the Shenzhou capsule touches down. Supercluster’s astronaut database is currently tracking how long Ye has spent in space to the second.
Meanwhile back on Earth at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, a Long March 7A has rolled out to LC-201 for a launch on August 22nd. At the same time as this, a Long March 12 is at Commercial Launch Complex 2 undergoing systems testing.
This Long March 7A is believed to be for the Y9 mission and will be the second mission performed by the vehicle in 2024 so far. The first mission performed this year was on June 29th. Whatever payload is currently atop of the launch vehicle is unknown, but based on NOTAM’s for this and the previous launch it is likely heading to a geostationary transfer orbit.
What is known and quite noticeable for this Long March 7A is a new paint job for the three stages, boosters, and fairing. The dark blue rings usually at the top of the boosters and three stages are now gone in favor of the vehicle’s white paint over propellant tank insulation and connecting structures. Red tracking squares on the four boosters are also gone.
The reasoning for this change is unknown currently, it may be for possible weight, cost, or production time savings. It could also be for a more stylistic change moving forward if launch vehicle tracking technology has improved beyond the need for dozens of references points. The Long March 12 has also not had red tracking squares painted on so far in its two trips out to Commercial Launch Complex 2.
Preparations for the maiden launch of the Long March 12 have been underway since July, not long after the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site was declared capable of performing launch missions. The vehicle has a diameter of 3.8 meters for its two stages, with it currently expected to fly with a 5.2-meter diameter fairing that is currently installed.
An official launch date has not yet been announced, but it is currently believed to occur after August 28th and between mid-September.