China Prepares to Launch Next Manned Mission

Ready for Liftoff
Credit : Xinhua

Coming right on the heels of a two-day summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and American President Barack Obama, China has announced the imminent launch of its next crewed spaceflight mission, scheduled for 5:38 p.m Beijing time, 5:38 a.m. EDT, from the Jiuquan Launch Center.

The three person crew of the Shenzhou-10 mission consists of Nie Haisheng, who flew previously on Shenzhou 6, Zhang Xiaoguang, and Liu Yang, who will become China’s second female astronaut. Once in orbit, the spacecraft will dock with the Tiagong 1 “Heavenly Palace” space station for a planned 15 day total stay in space.