Human spacecraft Shenzhou 16 has set a record for the number of people orbiting the Earth at the same time, bringing the number of people in orbit to 17.
The previous record was set on September 16, 2021. Then there were 14 people in orbit at the same time: seven on the ISS (two Russians, three Americans, a Japanese and a Frenchman), three astronauts from China in the ship “Shenzhou-12”, as well as four U.S. citizens in a private mission on the ship Crew Dragon. Prior to that, the record was held for a quarter of a century. In March 1995, 13 people were in orbit at the same time: six astronauts on Russia’s Mir space station and seven on the US shuttle Endeavour.
The Shenzhou-16 spacecraft launched on a Changcheng-2 rocket at 4.31 a.m. Moscow time on May 30. It carries a crew of three Chinese astronauts to the Tiangong orbital station, where three of their compatriots are already on board. The crew of the new spacecraft includes Commander Jing Haipeng, as well as Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao. Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu are now working on the Tiangong. The plan is for them to return to Earth shortly after the arrival of the new ship. This will be the second crew rotation in the history of the Chinese orbital station.
Crews from Russia’s Soyuz MS-23, the US’ Crew Dragon, and the private Axiom Space AX-2 mission are on the ISS – 11 people in all.
The Russian ship’s crew includes Russians Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and American Frank Rubio. The Crew-6 mission includes US astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev and UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi. The private mission is led by veteran spaceflighter and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson. She is joined by car racing driver and entrepreneur John Schoffner, as well as Saudi Arabia’s first astronauts in 40 years – Ali Al Qarni and the first female Arab astronaut Ryan Barnaoui.
The number of Earthlings in orbit will continue to hold a record for a short while. The return of the AX-2 mission crew, who flew to the ISS on May 22, is expected on May 30, weather permitting. According to the Axiom Space website, undocking is scheduled for no earlier than 6.05 p.m. Moscow time.