China is all set to send a second crew into space on Shenzhou 13 spacecraft that would carry three Chinese astronauts to the Tianhe core module of the national space station.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft, mounted on a Long March 2F Y13 carrier rocket, will be launched in the near future at an appropriate time. The combination of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket has aleady been transferred to the launching area at the Jiuquan launch centre in the Gobi Desert.
The launch will take place in the early hours of October 16, sources familiar with the manned space programme told South China Morning Post.
The mission is about one month after the successful return of the three taikonauts of Shenzhou-12.
The back-up crew of the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceflight mission—Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu—are expected to be part of Shenzhou-13 mission.
This is part of several missions which China has planned in 2021 and 2022 to complete the construction of the space station. China National Space Administration (CMSA) said that it was expected to finish assembling its first space station in lower Earth orbit by 2022.
China has already launched the Tianhe core module, two Tianzhou cargo ships and a manned spacecraft for building the space station.
"The facilities and equipment at the launch site are in good condition, and various pre-launch function checks and joint tests will be carried out as planned," CMSA said.
The space agency informed that the astronauts would be at the Tianhe core module for at least 180 days before returning, twice as long as the previous crew.
With the International Space Station set to retire in the coming years, China's space station will become the only one in Earth's orbit.
With the retirement of International Space Station in the coming years, Chinese space station would be the only one of its kind. CMSA is hoping for international cooperation and non-Chinese astronauts are being trained for future space station missions.
