On November 19, 2016 at 23:42 UTC the "Atlas 5” rocket-carrier was launched from Complex 41 of Cape Canaveral launch site of US Air Force. The launch was performed by United Launch Alliance supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited the “GOES-R” meteorological satellite. The GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R) will be the most sophisticated weather satellite with new technology never before seen and used in a geostationary orbit for forecasting. Officials estimate GOES-R will transmit more data in six months of operation than all previous GOES weather satellites combined.

On November 11, 2016 at 05:59 UTC the Chinese "Shenzhou-11” landing capsule landed safely at the designated area in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

photo by www.news.cn

The spacecraft delivered to Earth the 2 Chinese cosmonauts - Jing Haipeng (景海鵬) and Chen Dong (陳冬). The landing took place a day after the crew departed the “Tiangong-2” space station. The cosmonauts spent 32 days in space. Jing Haipeng, the mission commander, performed his third space flight after setting the record for the most cumulative time in space by a Chinese citizen with 47 days. C ... Read more »