The total number of people currently in Earth’s orbit has reached a record high of 17 – a remarkable achievement in a very short time.
Shenzhou 15 and Shenzhou 16 astronauts take a photo on the Tiangong station. (Photo: CMSA).
Following the launch of Shenzhou 16 at 8:31 AM on May 30, Hanoi time, the number of people in Earth’s orbit has reached a new record of 17, according to Space. The previous record, set during the private Inspiration4 mission in September 2021, was 14 people.
The astronauts currently in orbit come from 4 different teams. The Shenzhou 16 team (3 members) is on the Tiangong station. The Shenzhou 15 team (3 members) has been on the Tiangong station since November 2022 and is expected to return to Earth in early June. Team Expedition 69 (7 members). Team Axiom-2 (4 members).
5 out of 6 Expedition 69 astronauts pose with the Ax-2 team from Axiom Space. (Photo: NASA).
According to the schedule, the Ax-2 crew will depart the ISS aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and land in the ocean off the coast of Florida at 10:04 AM on June 1, reducing the number of people in Earth’s orbit to 13.
The record for the number of people in space (as opposed to Earth’s orbit) has also recently been broken and lasted for an even shorter duration. For about 5 minutes, there were 20 individuals outside of Earth. This record was set by the SpaceShipTwo crew aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity 25 spacecraft (6 people), the Shenzhou 15 team on the Tiangong station (3 people), the Expedition 69 team (7 people), and Ax-2 (4 people). The previous record was established during the suborbital flight NS-19 on Blue Origin’s NS-19 spacecraft (19 people).
Since the year 2000, humans have been continuously present in space, starting with the first crew living aboard the ISS. China completed the assembly of the Tiangong space station with its final module last year. Shenzhou 16 is the fifth crewed mission to the Tiangong station since 2021.
