Astronauts ready for countdown
By Yang Jian |
June 4, 2013, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
China' Shenzhou-10 spacecraft is ready for launch later this month with a crew of three astronauts, including one woman, a spokesman for the country's manned space program said yesterday.
The carrier rocket, a modified Long March-2F carrying the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, arrived at the launch platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest Gansu Province yesterday morning.
"The crew have finished their training and are ready for the mission," the official said. Training included practicing experiments the astronauts will carry out in the space as well as working and living in a simulated space environment.
"The astronauts are in good condition both physically and mentally and able to operate the spacecraft skillfully," the official added.
The spacecraft and rocket are also in excellent operating condition but will undergo further checks before the launch.
Wang Yaping, 35, a former air force pilot, will become the second Chinese woman in space after Liu Yang, who was on board the Shenzhou-9 mission in 2012.
Wang, an air force lieutenant, had been selected as a candidate for last year's Shenzhou-9 mission along with Liu.
Wang and her colleagues will work on an orbiting space lab module for 15 days, said Zhang Jianqi, director general of the China Space Foundation and former deputy commander of the manned space program.
The Shenzhou-10 will dock with orbiting lab module Tiangong-1 several times. "The three astronauts will stay in orbit for 15 days, including 12 days when they will work inside the coupled complex of the Shenzhou-10 and Tiangong-1," said Zhou Jianping, the program's head designer.
Astronauts carried out a manned docking with the module for the first time in June last year and lived and worked in it for about 10 days.
Research will be conducted on the astronauts' ability to adapt to the environment in the module.
Tests will also be made on repairs and other key technologies necessary for a space station.
Astronauts are to give science lectures to teenagers on Earth during the mission, China's fifth manned mission since Yang Liwei became the country's first man in space in 2003.
China is aiming to launch a space laboratory in 2016 and its first space station, made up of three capsules, should be in orbit around 2020.
The country is also planning a space infrastructure composed of Earth-observation, communication, and navigation and positioning satellites.
The carrier rocket, a modified Long March-2F carrying the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, arrived at the launch platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest Gansu Province yesterday morning.
"The crew have finished their training and are ready for the mission," the official said. Training included practicing experiments the astronauts will carry out in the space as well as working and living in a simulated space environment.
"The astronauts are in good condition both physically and mentally and able to operate the spacecraft skillfully," the official added.
The spacecraft and rocket are also in excellent operating condition but will undergo further checks before the launch.
Wang Yaping, 35, a former air force pilot, will become the second Chinese woman in space after Liu Yang, who was on board the Shenzhou-9 mission in 2012.
Wang, an air force lieutenant, had been selected as a candidate for last year's Shenzhou-9 mission along with Liu.
Wang and her colleagues will work on an orbiting space lab module for 15 days, said Zhang Jianqi, director general of the China Space Foundation and former deputy commander of the manned space program.
The Shenzhou-10 will dock with orbiting lab module Tiangong-1 several times. "The three astronauts will stay in orbit for 15 days, including 12 days when they will work inside the coupled complex of the Shenzhou-10 and Tiangong-1," said Zhou Jianping, the program's head designer.
Astronauts carried out a manned docking with the module for the first time in June last year and lived and worked in it for about 10 days.
Research will be conducted on the astronauts' ability to adapt to the environment in the module.
Tests will also be made on repairs and other key technologies necessary for a space station.
Astronauts are to give science lectures to teenagers on Earth during the mission, China's fifth manned mission since Yang Liwei became the country's first man in space in 2003.
China is aiming to launch a space laboratory in 2016 and its first space station, made up of three capsules, should be in orbit around 2020.
The country is also planning a space infrastructure composed of Earth-observation, communication, and navigation and positioning satellites.
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