The rocket that will send the first crew members to China’s new space station has been moved onto the launch pad ahead of its planned blastoff next week.
Rocket in place to send 3 crew to Chinese space station
June 9, 2021
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1of3In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship with its Long March-2F carrier rocket is being transferred to the launching area of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China s Gansu province, on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. A three-man crew of astronauts will blast off in June for a three-month mission on China s new space station, according to a space official who was the country s first astronaut in orbit in May. (Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua via AP)Wang Jiangbo/APShow MoreShow Less
2of3In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship with its Long March-2F carrier rocket is being prepared at the launching area of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China Gansu province, on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. A three-man crew of astronauts will blast off in June for a three-month mission on China s new space st
China s Shenzhou-12 spaceship moved to launch pad for manned mission ecns.cn - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ecns.cn Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The rocket that will send the first crew members to live on China’s new orbiting space station has been moved onto the launch pad ahead of its planned blast-off next week.
The three astronauts plan to spend three months on the space station doing spacewalks, construction and maintenance work and science experiments.
The main section of the Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, station was launched into orbit on April 29, and a cargo spacecraft sent up last month carried fuel, food and equipment to the station in preparation for the crewed mission.
The Long March-2F Y12 rocket carrying the Shenzhou-12 spaceship was transferred to the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in north-west China on Wednesday, the China Manned Space Engineering Office said. Its tentative launch date is next Wednesday.