China prepares for launch of next manned mission
China is set to launch its next manned space mission, Shenzhou XX, in the coming days, according to a statement from the China Manned Space Agency.
The spacecraft will carry three astronauts to the country’s Tiangong space station, continuing China’s growing presence in space exploration, News.Az reports, citing Chinese media.
The Shenzhou XX spacecraft, crew, and carrier, a Long March 2F rocket, were moved to the service tower on Wednesday night at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert, the agency said in a brief news release, adding that launch equipment at the spaceport "are in good condition".
The release noted that the Shenzhou XX spacecraft and the rocket will undergo final functional checks in the next several days. It said the launch will take place in due course in the near future.
The Shenzhou XX crew will carry out China's 15th manned spaceflight and will become the ninth group of inhabitants of the Tiangong.
The crew members, whose names have yet to be disclosed, will take over the massive orbital outpost from their peers in the Shenzhou XIX — mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe and crew members Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze — who arrived on Oct 30. By the end of April, Cai's team will have stayed in orbit for nearly six months.
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