China National Radio reported on May 23 in Beijing that according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft and the Long March 2F Yao 16 carrier rocket combination was transferred to the launch area on the 22nd and is scheduled to be launched at an appropriate 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 China's manned space mission list for 2023, after the launch of Shenzhou 16 this month, Shenzhou 17 will be launched in October. During this period, there is a focus that deserves special attention, that is, the third batch of Chinese astronauts will board the space station. For the first time, the astronauts of Shenzhou 16 and 17 will include flight engineers and payload specialists.

The third batch of candidate astronauts will be selected in 2020

According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office on October 1, 2020, the selection of the third batch of reserve astronauts for my country's manned space program was recently completed. A total of 18 reserve astronauts (including 1 female) were finally selected, including 7 space pilots, 7 space flight engineers and 4 payload specialists. They will become new members of my country's astronaut team.

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

Space pilots are selected from active pilots of the Air Force, space flight engineers are selected from engineering and technical personnel engaged in aerospace engineering and related fields, and payload experts are selected from scientific researchers in the field of space science research and application of manned space engineering.

For the first time, there may be an "astronaut" who is not a pilot

At present, the flight crew that will carry out the Shenzhou 16 mission has not yet been announced. According to analysis, it is highly likely that the three-person crew will still be retained.

According to reports, since the successful launch of Shenzhou V, China has sent 16 and 26 astronauts to space, and the first batch of 9 astronauts and the second batch of 7 astronauts have all flown into space. It is expected that the Shenzhou 16 crew will continue to be led by the old generation of astronauts, and the third batch of astronauts will also make their debut, which will be one of the biggest highlights of this mission.

If the Shenzhou 16 and 17 crews will include flight engineers and payload specialists for the first time, it means that for the first time, "astronauts" who are not pilots will enter space to perform missions.

“Load Expert” does not require a pilot background

According to the introduction, a payload specialist is a type of astronaut classified by mission. It refers to scientific researchers who conduct scientific and applied research and other experimental work in the space station. Simply put, a payload specialist is an astronaut who participates in space experiment operations. With the deepening of space science and technology activities, space science and technology activities have become more and more specialized, so payload specialists came into being. Payload specialists do not require a pilot background, but must have professional training in science, medicine, engineering and other fields and have rich operating experience. They are mainly responsible for the operation of relevant experimental payloads.

It is reported that different countries have different names for astronauts involved in space experiment operations at different stages. For example, the United States called them "scientist astronauts" during the Apollo moon landing phase and "payload experts" during the space shuttle phase; Russia called them "research astronauts" during the Mir space station phase, etc.

What are the requirements for selecting a "load expert"?

On October 2, 2022, the China Manned Space Engineering Office announced that in order to meet the needs of subsequent flight missions of the manned space engineering, the selection of the fourth batch of reserve astronauts has been launched recently. A total of 12 to 14 reserve astronauts will be selected, including about 2 payload specialists.

It is reported that candidates for payload specialists need to have a doctorate in relevant professional fields, have worked in related industries for no less than three years, and be between 30 and 45 years old. Payload specialists also need to meet certain physical requirements, with males having to be between 162 and 175 cm tall and females having to be between 160 and 175 cm tall.