Record 17 astronauts in Earth orbit

The total number of people in Earth orbit is now at 17 - a record high in such a short period of time.

Shenzhou 15 and Shenzhou 16 astronauts pose for a photo on the Tiangong space station. Photo: CMSA — Shenzhou 15 and Shenzhou 16 astronauts pose for a photo on the Tiangong space station. Photo: *CMSA*

After the Shenzhou 16 mission launched at 8:31 a.m. on May 30, Hanoi time, the number of people in Earth's orbit reached a new record of 17, according to Space . The previous record was set during the private Inspiration4 mission in September 2021, which was 14 people.

The astronauts currently in orbit come from four teams. The Shenzhou 16 team (3 people) on the Tiangong space station. The Shenzhou 15 team (3 people) has been on the Tiangong space station since November 2022 and is expected to return to Earth in early June. The Expedition 69 team (7 people). The Axiom-2 team (4 people).

Five of the six Expedition 69 astronauts pose with Axiom Space's Ax-2 team. Photo: NASA — Five of the six Expedition 69 astronauts pose with Axiom Space's Ax-2 team. Photo: *NASA*

The Ax-2 crew is scheduled to leave the ISS on SpaceX's Crew Dragon and land in the ocean off the coast of Florida at 10:04 a.m. on June 1, reducing the number of people in Earth orbit to 13.

The record for the number of people in space (other than Earth orbit) was also broken recently, and for an even shorter period of time. For about five minutes, there were 20 people outside of Earth. That record was set by the SpaceShipTwo crew on Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 spaceplane (six people), the Shenzhou 15 crew on the Tiangong space station (three people), the Expedition 69 crew (seven people), and the Ax-2 crew (four people). The previous record was set by the NS-19 suborbital flight on Blue Origin’s NS-19 spacecraft (19 people).

Since 2000, humans have been continuously present in space, starting with the first crew living on the ISS. China completed the assembly of the Tiangong 3 space station module late last year. Shenzhou 16 is the fifth mission to carry humans to the Tiangong station from 2021.

An Khang (According to Space )

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