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SHENZHOU-18 RETURNS TO EARTH, Nov 3, 2024 EST, Inner Mongolia, China
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Update, November 3, 8:00 am EST: Xinhua reports that Shenzhou-18 undocked at 16:12, which we presume is Beijing Time, which would be 3:12 am EST. They did not provide a projected landing time.
China’s Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship separated from the space station combination at 16:12 on Sunday, and the three astronauts aboard are returning to Earth. Prior to the separation, the crew completed various tasks https://t.co/UkPRjkqgJk pic.twitter.com/nSYDqrYVTo
— China Xinhua Sci-Tech (@XHscitech) November 3, 2024
Original Entry: The three-man Shenzhou-18 crew will return to Earth on November 4 Beijing Time after six months on the Tiangong-3 space station. Their replacements, Shenzhou-19, arrived on October 29 EDT (October 30 UTC) .
The crew will make a nightime landing at the Dongfeng landing site in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. Details are pending.
Xinhua says the landing is in the early morning of November 4, which would mean mid-afternoon November 3 EST, but the exact time was not announced. “The return capsule of the Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship, carrying three astronauts, is scheduled to touch down on Earth in the early morning on Nov. 4.”
The United States changes to standard time on November 3 at 2:00 am. That afternoon, the time zone difference between Beijing and Eastern Standard Time is 13 hours. Nov. 4, 4:00 am Beijing Time, for example, is Nov 3, 3:00 pm EST.