China Prepares to Launch Shenzhou-14 Crewed Spaceship

The Shenzhou-14 crewed spaceship and an attached Long March-2F carrier rocket have been transferred to the launching area, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on Sunday. A specific date and time for the launch has not yet been publicly announced.

Zheng Yonghuang, chief engineer of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, said that the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft will carry three astronauts to work and live in space for six months, and it will be in orbit together with Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft for 5-10 days. 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.

Zheng added that in the future, they will mainly carry out inspections of rocket spacecraft, and they will organize launch drills to ensure that all systems participating in the launch can be in the best condition. The CMSA also officially released the mission logo on Monday.

In addition, China’s Long March-5B Y3 carrier rocket, which will launch the lab module Wentian to the country’s space station, arrived on Sunday at the launch site in the southern island province of Hainan. The rocket, along with the Wentian lab module which was already transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, will be assembled and tested at the launch site. All systems involved in the mission at the launch site are undergoing orderly preparations.

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