CCTV Beijing reported on May 23 that according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft and the Long March-2F Yao-16 carrier rocket combination were transferred to the launch area on the 22nd, and it is planned to launch at an opportune time in the near future.

On May 22, the Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft and the Long March-2F Yao-16 carrier rocket were in transit. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

According to the 2023 "task list" of China's manned spaceflight, after the launch of Shenzhou 16 this month, Shenzhou 17 will be launched in October. During this period, there is a particularly noteworthy focus, that is, the third batch of Chinese astronauts will be on the stage of the space station, and the astronauts of the Shenzhou 16 and 17 crews will appear flight engineers and payload experts.

The selection of the third batch of reserve astronauts will be completed in 2020

According to the news of the China Manned Space Engineering Office on October 1, 2020, the selection of the third batch of reserve astronauts for China's manned space project ended a few days ago, and a total of 18 reserve astronauts (including 1 woman) were finally selected, including 7 space pilots, 7 space flight engineers and 4 payload experts, who will become new members of China's astronaut team.

According to reports, in order to meet the needs of China's space station engineering tasks, the third batch of reserve astronauts has added two categories of space flight engineers and payload experts on the basis of space pilots. Among them, space pilots and space flight engineers are mainly responsible for directly controlling and managing spacecraft, as well as carrying out related technical tests. Payload specialists are mainly responsible for the on-orbit operation of payloads for space science experiments.

Aerospace pilots are selected from among the pilots on active duty in the Air Force, aerospace flight engineers are selected from among engineers and technicians engaged in aerospace engineering and related fields, and payload specialists are selected from scientific researchers in the field of space science research and application of manned space engineering.

Or will usher in a "astronaut" who is not a pilot

At present, the flight crew of the Shenzhou 16 mission has not yet been announced, and according to analysis, there is a high probability that the three-person crew will still be retained.

According to reports, since the successful launch of the "Shenzhou 5," China has sent 16 and 26 astronauts into space by the time of Shenzhou 15, and the first batch of nine astronauts and the second batch of seven astronauts have all flown into space. It is expected that the Shenzhou 16 crew will still "bring the old with the new", led by the older generation of astronauts, and the third batch of astronauts will also appear, which will be one of the highlights of this mission.

If the astronauts of the Shenzhou 16 and 17 crews will have two types of personnel, flight engineers and payload specialists, it means that there will be "astronauts" from non-pilots in space to carry out missions.

"Payload Specialist" does not require a pilot background

According to reports, the payload expert is a kind of astronaut classified according to the task, which refers to the scientific research personnel who carry out scientific and applied research and other experimental work in the space station. With the deepening of space science and technology activities, space science and technology activities have become more and more specialized, so payload experts have come into being. Payload specialists do not require pilot background, but must have professional training and rich operational experience in science, medicine, engineering and other fields, and are mainly responsible for the operation of relevant experimental payloads.

For example, the United States called the astronauts "scientist astronauts" in the Apollo moon landing stage and the "payload expert" in the space shuttle stage. Russia in the Mir space station stage called "research cosmonauts", etc.

What are the requirements for the selection of "payload specialists".

On October 2, 2022, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced that in order to meet the needs of the follow-up mission of the manned space project, the selection of China's fourth batch of reserve astronauts has been launched recently. A total of 12 to 14 reserve astronauts will be selected this time, including about 2 payload specialists.

According to reports, candidates for load specialists need to have a Ph.D. in a relevant professional field and have worked in the relevant industry for at least 3 years, aged between 30 and 45. Load specialists also need to meet certain physical requirements, which are 162 to 175 cm tall for men and 160 to 175 cm for women.