June 17th is another day in the history of China’s aerospace that is worth remembering! At 9:22 in the morning, the Shenzhou XII manned spacecraft carrying astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo was successfully launched in the spotlight at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center! This is the first manned mission of the Chinese Space Station during the orbital construction phase, and the space station construction mission has once again taken a big step forward.

The Shenzhou 12 manned spacecraft is the first manned spacecraft in the mission phase of the Chinese space station. It is also the manned spacecraft with the highest standards and the most stringent requirements for various indicators developed by China so far. In this manned space flight mission, Zhengzhou University, as always, actively participated and contributed a lot to the development of the motherland’s aerospace industry.

In this mission, two sets of the helmet viewing window were developed by Zhengzhou University, one is the intravehicular window worn by astronauts during launch, and the other is a new-generation window for astronauts’ extravehicular activities.

Professor Liu Chuntai, executive director of the National Engineering Research Center for Rubber and Plastic Moulds of Zhengzhou University, was invited to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and witnessed the entire launch process.

From Shenzhou VII to the newly launched Shenzhou XII spacecraft, the outer spacesuit helmet windows and the related plastic parts used by astronauts were all developed by the team of Zhengzhou University. The face window components are the window for astronauts to observe the outside the module. It can be said to be the "eyes" of astronauts. It not only provides astronauts with a clear and good vision, but also one of the most critical components for astronauts’ safety. Any cracks in the face window can put the astronauts in danger as it is the weakest point under great air pressure.