23 November 2022
CMSA reported on 22 November that two-time taikonaut Chen Dong has become the first Chinese to stay in orbit for more than 200 days and consequently set a new record for the most cumulative days living and working in space by a taikonaut. Together with two other astronauts, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, Chen was sent to the space station core module Tianhe aboard the Shenzhou XIV spaceship on June 5 for a six-month stay.
The crew has spent more than 170 days in orbit. This is the second time Chen has ventured into space, following his first 33-day Shenzhou XI mission in Tiangong 2, the space station's predecessor, in 2016 with astronaut Jing Haipeng. Chen and his team members will be involved in the first Chinese space station crew handover in orbit when the Shenzhou 15 mission arrives.
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