BEIJING, May 30 – The Shenzhou XXI mission crew returned to Earth on Friday evening, concluding the longest single orbital journey ever made by Chinese astronauts.
A reentry capsule carrying mission commander Senior Colonel Zhang Lu, spaceflight engineer Major Wu Fei and payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang touched down at 8:11 pm at the Dongfeng landing site in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region after flying for more than five hours on its Earth-bound journey.
Following safety checks outside the capsule, ground recovery personnel from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center — the home port for China’s manned spaceflights — opened the hatch of the bell-shaped capsule and conducted a preliminary check of the astronauts’ health.
The Shenzhou XXI crew members were then helped out of the capsule and seated on chairs to share their experiences in a live program with a reporter from China Central Television before being taken to medical examination vehicles.
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