Participating systems ready to welcome return of Shenzhou-19 astronauts

Final preparations are in full swing across all participating systems, and the landing site is ready to welcome the return of the Shenzhou-19 crew upon the completion of a six-month mission aboard China's space station Tiangong in orbit.

The Shenzhou-19 crew has now completed all planned tasks. The three astronauts will take the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft and return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The comprehensive space situation display system developed by the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is now fully operational, creating a "digital sky net" for the return capsule to ensure safe return of the astronauts.

In the command center at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, technicians were conducting the final comprehensive drill for the return of the trio.

"Traditional situation displays mainly present data in two-dimensional charts, making it difficult to build spatial images. The comprehensive space situation display system is like bringing a smartphone navigation system into space, allowing real-time tracking of the return capsule's current location and flight status," said Li Jun, a technician at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The comprehensive space situation display system uses real-time data to convert telemetry data from the return capsule and various tracking stations into visual animations.

It calculates the relative position of the return capsule's landing spot in real time and provides tracking information, such as time, angle, and position, based on the theoretical landing point and the locations of radar, optical, and telemetry equipment.

"During the return mission, it is crucial to synchronize information between the landing spot of the return capsule and the search and rescue teams. We've applied data persistence in the management to accurately track mission data. In the complex terrain of the Dongfeng landing site, we've also provided a real-time overview of the mission situation, helping the command center understand the search and rescue status and offering guidance for the rescue teams to ensure the mission goes smoothly," said Li.

Currently, the hardware and software of the tracking and control system at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center have both demonstrated stable and reliable performance during the two comprehensive system drills and are fully prepared for the mission.

Participating systems ready to welcome return of Shenzhou-19 astronauts

Russia said on Thursday that its armed forces had struck over 100 targets in Ukraine, while Ukraine reported, on the same day, that it had repelled offensives from Russia.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its latest report that over the past 24 hours, its forces had conducted strikes on 149 areas, including energy infrastructure serving the Ukrainian forces, assembly workshops and storage points for long-range attack drones, and temporary deployment sites of Ukraine's armed forces and foreign mercenaries. They also destroyed Ukrainian armored vehicles, field artillery, and ammunition depots. Additionally, the Russian air defense system shot down 216 fixed-wing drones belonging to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that its troops engaged in 134 combat clashes with Russian forces in the past day. They repelled dozens of Russian attacks in areas such as Pokrovsk. Their air, missile, and artillery units struck one Russian warehouse, one control point, and two major targets, and shot down 330 Russian tactical drones.

In another development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that a Ukrainian delegation is en route to the United States to continue peace negotiations.

The talks with the U.S. negotiating team are set to take place on Friday and Saturday, with European representatives also expected to participate, Zelensky told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

He highlighted that the key points of contention between Ukraine and the United States include territorial issues and the use of frozen Russian assets.

Zelensky said that, should a peace agreement be reached in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukraine plans to use the frozen assets for reconstruction efforts. However, if hostilities persist, the funds may be directed toward supporting the Ukrainian military, bolstering defense production, and purchasing U.S.-made air defense missiles, he added.

Russia strikes over 100 targets in Ukraine, Ukraine reports repelling Russian offensives