Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

China is ready to launch its piloted Shenzhou-16 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station.

All appears going smoothly at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gansu Province.

Rocket launch teams conducted a full-system drill on Friday to test its preparedness in the Shenzhou-16 countdown to launch in the coming days.

Image credit: CMSA

The drill included astronauts, yet to be named, in completing the joint test with ground operation personnel.

Reliability and safety tests

“After the combination of the spacecraft and the rocket was transferred to the launch area, we proceeded to check its coordination performance. We completed the status connection and setting of the rocket on the ground, and checked the functions of the rocket,” said He Pengju, senior engineer with the Test and Launch Department of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Image credit: Shujianyang Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

“Meanwhile, we completed the electric test of the spacecraft in the launching area. We also tested the reliability and safety of each system in the launch process through the launch drill,” He said in a China Central Television (CCTV) interview.

Crew return next month

Currently, the Shenzhou-15 crew, comprising Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, are in good condition and are making preparations for their return to the Earth next month, wrapping up their six-month mission in Earth orbit.

Shenzhou-15 crew.
Image credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab

The landing site has also carried out search and rescue drills in preparation for the return of the Shenzhou-15 crew.

The soon-to-launch Senzhou-16 was originally designated as a backup spacecraft for the Shenzhou-15 mission. The trio of new crew members will conduct spacewalks and scientific experiments, and verify various technologies.

Tiangong is a T-shaped structure, already accommodated four groups of taikonauts.

Following the Shenzhou-16 liftoff, the next crewed mission, Shenzhou-17, is targeted for an October takeoff.