Engineers and scientists are preparing for the smooth launch of the Shenzhou-20 mission, having already transferred the combination of the crewed spaceship and its carrier rocket to the launch site at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on Wednesday.
The Shenzhou-20 mission will launch at an appropriate time in the near future, the agency said.
The spaceship and carrier rocket were lifted from the assembly and test facility on Wednesday evening and transported via vertical transfer to the launching site. The entire transfer process went smoothly and took approximately two hours.
"Before the vertical transfer, we had already developed a detailed follow-up work plan, outlining the content, status, sequence and inter-coordination of testing and inspection items for each system in the launching area. During implementation, our primary focus was on confirming the status [of the combination], controlling the process and supervising the checkpoints, to ensure that each system operates efficiently and smoothly," said Zheng Yonghuang, chief engineer at the Jiuyuan Satellite Launch Center.
Following a "rolling backup" model, in which there is always a rocket in standby mode for any emergency, the Long March-2F carrier rocket has completed rocket lifting and binding and has also performed emergency rescue standby duties for half a year since it arrived at the launch center on September 20, 2024.
"On March 20 this year, our rocket launch team once again came to the launch site to conduct testing on the multiple subsystems of the rocket and ensure the compatibility between them. We performed four overall inspections and simultaneously completed the fairing assembly, and the matching of the spacecraft-fairing combination and the escape tower. Currently, the rocket systems are functioning well, with all parameters within the acceptable range, and the rocket is in good condition," said Liu Haibo, an engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The combination has already completed final assembly tests and other related tasks, and the launch site facilities and equipment are in good condition with engineers scheduled to carry out various functional checks and joint tests ahead of launch.
Shenzhou-20 engineers prepare for launch
Shenzhou-20 engineers prepare for launch
