China to launch Shenzhou-17 crewed space mission on Oct. 26

JIUQUAN, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhou-17 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:14 a.m. Thursday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Wednesday.

The spaceship will carry three astronauts -- Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin -- to carry out the Shenzhou-17 spaceflight mission. Tang Hongbo will be the commander, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, at a press conference.

Shenzhou-17 is the 30th flight mission of China's manned space program, and the 12th manned mission of the program.

The crew will stay in orbit for about six months.

The launch will use a Long March-2F carrier rocket, which will be filled with propellant soon, Lin said.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-17 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the front port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft, Lin said.

The Shenzhou-17 crew is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in April next year.

During their stay, they will witness the arrival of the Shenzhou-18 crewed spaceship and Tianzhou-7 cargo craft, Lin said.

The space station combination is now in a stable status with all equipment functioning well. Product qualities of the Shenzhou-17 spaceship and the Long March-2F carrier rocket are under control, Lin added.

The Shenzhou-17 crew is in good condition, while the ground system facilities are in stable operation. All preparations for the launch have been completed, Lin said.

The Shenzhou-16 crew is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on Oct. 31, after completing the in-orbit work handover to the Shenzhou-17 crew, Lin said.