China will launch three astronauts aboard the spacecraft on Sunday (06/05/2022) local time on a six-month mission to complete construction of their space station.
Astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang, and Cai Xuzhe will travel on the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft that will dock at the Tiangong space station, which is currently under construction. Shenzhou-14 will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu.
"This mission will build the space station into a national space laboratory," said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
"The Shenzhou-14 crew will work with the ground team to complete the meeting, docking and transposition of the two lab modules with the core module."
They will enter two lab modules for the first time and help create a suitable environment for them to live in. In addition, they will open and install a dozen scientific experiment cabinets in the two modules.
This is the second set of six astronauts that China will send to build its space station. Previously, three members of the Chinese astronaut crew, including a woman, returned to Earth in April after spending a record six months building key parts of the space station which is expected to be ready this year.
"They have completed verification of the key technology of the space station," the CMSA said.
Once ready, China will be the only country that has a space station, because Russia's International Space Station (ISS) is a joint project of several countries.
The China Space Station (CSS) is also expected to be a competitor to the ISS built by Russia. Observers say CSS may be the only space station to remain in orbit once the ISS retires in the years to come.
In February, China unveiled ambitious plans for its thriving space industry that include more than 50 space launches, and six manned space flights to complete construction of its space station.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) said China will carry out more than 50 space launches by 2022, sending more than 140 spacecraft into space.
Chen, who will be the new mission commander, is participating in the Shenzhou-11 manned space mission, Liu is part of the Shenzhou-9 mission, and Cai is a newcomer to space. The Shenzhou-14 mission will complete the construction of the Tiangong space station, with a basic three-module structure consisting of the Tianhe core module and the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules.
While in orbit, the Shenzhou-14 crew will witness two lab modules, the Tianzhou-5 cargo plane and the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft dock with the Tianhe core module.
They will rotate with the Shenzhou-15 crew in orbit, and return to the Dongfeng landing site in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in December.
China began building its three-module space station in April 2021 with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of the three-module stations.