China's space station Tiangong is expecting the fifth space reunion of crew members of two manned space missions and their handover of mission on Wednesday.
China's Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship is scheduled to launch at 04:27 Beijing Time on Wednesday (2027 GMT on Tuesday) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced Tuesday.
The Shenzhou-19 is the 33rd flight mission of China's manned space program and the fourth manned mission during the application and development stage of China's space station.
From the Shenzhou-14 to the Shenzhou-19 manned space missions, there have been six crews over the past two years. The space reunion of the Shenzhou-19 and the Shenzhou-18 will be the fifth crew reunion in the Chinese space station. Coincidentally, Cai Xuzhe, who greeted the Shenzhou-15 crew in the first reunion, will be welcomed as the mission commander of the Shenzhou-19 crew this time in the space station.
"This time we will be welcomed [in the space station]. It has become a tradition for us to have a welcome ceremony in orbit, not just for a rotation of personnel, but also, more significantly, for the handover of responsibility with a sense of mission. We also hope that we can carry on this tradition as well," Cai said.
The first space reunion in 2022 kicked off the first in-orbit crew rotation in China's space station and also marked the beginning of a long-term manned residence mode in the space station.
At the first space reunion, there were two first-batch astronauts and four second-batch astronauts. The first and second batches of astronauts were still the main force of astronauts aboard the space station at that time.
Last year witnessed the second and third space reunion as the construction of the space station advanced. The fourth in-orbit crew rotation was on April 26 this year when the crew members of the Shenzhou-17 and the Shenzhou-18 missions met in the space station.
Among the six crew members of these two missions, there are two from the second batch and four from the third batch. The second and third batches of astronauts have gradually become the main force of astronauts in the application and development stage of the space station.
In the Shenzhou-19 mission, two of them astronauts except Cai Xuzhe were born in the 1990s and are from the third batch of Chinese astronauts. They are also joining this space relay.
"So before our departure, we have already made an appointment to meet in space. They often called us and shared with us some of their experiences in space. Recently we often discussed some of our arrangements for the space reunion. They are very much looking forward to our arrival. We will bring some fresh fruits, but I think nothing compares to us meeting face to face in orbit. It would be a happiest moment for us to meet each other in space," said Song Lingdong, Shenzhou-19 astronaut.
"We often say that work in the space station is a relay race, passing the baton from one crew to the next. It is not only between crews, but also between the first, second, and third batches of astronauts, including the fourth batch in the future. The current fourth batch has already joined the team, and the baton will be passed to them eventually. This process of passing must continue all the time," Cai said.
China's space station about to witness fifth in-orbit crew rotation
