外媒报道：中国成功发射神舟十二号，宇航员飞赴空间站

China successfully launches mission sending astronauts to new space station

（CNN）

Hong Kong (CNN) China successfully launched three astronauts into space on Thursday, bringing the country one step closer to completing its new space station.

The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, or Divine Vessel, was launched on a Long March-2F carrier rocket Thursday morning, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert.

本周四，中国成功将三名宇航员送入太空，使中国离建成新的空间站又近一步。

周四早间，神舟12号搭载长征二号F运载火箭从成功发射，发射地点位于中国西北部戈壁沙漠的酒泉卫星发射中心。

The mission will send the crew to the core module of the planned space station, called Tiangong or Heavenly Palace, which is still under construction in a low Earth orbit.

The spacecraft will dock with the core module about six and a half hours after launch, according to state media CCTV. The crew will stay in orbit for three months, during which the life support system and maintenance will be tested.

The Shenzhou-12 mission is the first crewed mission and the third launch of a total of 11 launches for China's space station construction. This is also China's first manned mission in nearly five years.

During the three months, two astronauts will conduct two long-duration spacewalks. After this mission, another three crewed spacecrafts and two laboratory modules will be sent to the space station, with the aim of completing its construction by the end of 2022.

该任务计划将宇航员三人队伍送至“天宫号”空间站核心舱，“天宫号”空间站目前正在近地轨道建设当中。

据CCTV报道，飞船入轨后将在6个半小时内与核心舱进行对接。三人将驻留三个月，测试生命保障系统与维护系统。

神舟十二号任务是中国空间站阶段的首次载人飞行任务，是11次飞行任务的第3次，也是五年来，中国首度进行载人航天任务。

在这三个月内，两名宇航员将进行两次长时间的太空行走。本次任务结束后，将会有另外3艘载人飞船和2个实验核心舱送往太空舱，计划于2022年完成建设。

International space missions

The International Space Station (ISS) has housed more than 200 astronauts from 19 different countries -- but not China.

Chinese astronauts are locked out of the ISS due to US political objections and legislative restrictions -- which is why it's been a long-standing goal for China to build a station of its own.

Russia, a longtime contributor on the ISS, has also left the project and is now considering its own space station to launch by 2030.

China's space program has expanded rapidly in the past decade -- in the last seven months alone, the country's scientists have already successfully landed exploratory rovers on the moon in December and on Mars in May.

In April, they successfully launched the first module of the space station. The station will need to be assembled from several modules launching at different times. If successfully completed, the station is expected to operate for 10 years.

国际太空任务

国际空间站（ISS）容纳了来自19个国家的200多名宇航员，但其中不包括中国。

由于美国的政治反对及立法限制，ISS一直将中国宇航员拒之门外，这也是为什么长久以来，建造一座属于自己的空间站一直都是中国的目标。

长期以来参与国际空间站建设的俄罗斯也已退出，目前正在考虑在2030年前建造本国的空间站。

中国的太空项目在过去十年内迅速扩张，仅在过去7个月时间里，中国科学家就已经成功的12月和5月将探测器分别在送上月球和火星。

4月，中国成功发射了空间站的首个舱段，空间站通过在不同时间内发射的多个舱段组装而成。成功建成后，空间站将至少运行10年。

Russia's departure from the ISS, China's space station, and the fact that the ISS is due to run out of funding in the next few years could potentially signal an end to an unparalleled era of international cooperation in space.

But Nie, the leader of the Shenzhou-12 mission, told CNN in 2015 he was keen to work with other nations and that foreign astronauts would be welcome to visit China's own space station, echoing the Chinese government's previous statements.

"As an astronaut, I have a very strong desire to fly space missions with astronauts from other countries," Nie said. "And I look forward to the opportunity go to the International Space Station."

随着俄罗斯退出ISS、中国建造空间站，以及ISS几年后即将资金耗尽的事实，可能预示着这段前所未有的国际太空合作时代的结束。

但是神舟十二号任务的队长聂海胜在2015年接受CNN采访时曾表示，非常乐意与其他国家合作，也欢迎国外的宇航员参观中国的空间站，这也与中国政府此前的声明不谋而合。

“作为一名宇航员，我非常希望能够与其他国家的宇航员共同执行太空任务，”聂海胜说，“我也期待能够有机会进入国际空间站。”