By 
October 19th, 2023
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China’s next human spaceflight — the Shenzhou-17 mission — is scheduled to be launched “in the coming days” to transport three astronauts to the country’s Tiangong space station, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) has stated.
The Shenzhou-17 spacecraft atop its booster, a Long March 2F rocket, were moved on Thursday morning to the service tower at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China’s Gobi Desert.
The booster and spacecraft are to undergo final function checks with an all-systems rehearsal set to occur shortly.
Now onboard China’s space station, the Shenzhou-16 crew.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Six-month flight
China Daily adds that the six-month-long Shenzhou-17 mission will be the nation’s 12th piloted space mission and the sixth crewed flight to Tiangong.
Who is onboard Shenzhou-17 has not been disclosed at this stage.
The possible launch date is October 26, according to some reports.
That crew will take over in-space operations of the orbital outpost from the current trio of Shenzhou-16 astronauts: mission commander Major General Jing Haipeng; Colonel Zhu Yangzhu, spaceflight engineer; and Professor Gui Haichao, the mission’s science payload specialist.
Image credit: CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Current configuration
Wrapping up its duties, the now-orbiting Shenzhou-16 crew has circled Earth for nearly five months and will return to Earth several days after the new crew arrives.
As currently configured (with new modules likely to be added) the Tiangong orbital outpost consists of three major components: the Tianhe core module and the Wentian and Mengtian science lab segments. Also attached to the complex are the Shenzhou-16 crew ship and the Tianzhou-6 cargo ship.
For a video of the Shenzhou-17 rollout, go to:
Posted in Space News
