China to launch Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship on June 17

JIUQUAN, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship will be launched at 9:22 a.m. Thursday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, announced the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Wednesday.

The spaceship will take three male astronauts -- Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo -- into space for the construction of China's space station, said Ji Qiming, assistant to the director of the CMSA, at a press conference held at the launch center.

After entering orbit, the spaceship will conduct a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the in-orbit space station core module Tianhe, forming a complex with the core module and the cargo craft Tianzhou-2. The astronauts aboard Shenzhou-12 will be stationed in the core module and remain in orbit for three months.

The launch will be carried out with a Long March-2F carrier rocket, which will be filled with propellant on Wednesday morning, Ji said.