China's Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 17:17 Thursday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Wednesday.
Lin Xiqiang, spokesman of the agency, announced this while briefing the media on the main tasks of the Shenzhou-20 mission.
"As evaluated and decided by the mission headquarters, the Shenzhou-20 spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 17:17 on April 24 Beijing Time. Crew members are astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie with Chen Dong as the commander," Lin said.
"Astronaut Chen Dong participated in the manned spaceflight missions of Shenzhou-11 and Shenzhou-14, and two years after the Shenzhou-14 mission, he will serve as the commander again. Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, among the third batch of Chinese astronauts, will carry out a space flight for the first time. Chen Zhongrui was a former air force pilot before being selected as an astronaut, and Wang Jie previously served as an engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation," he said.
The three astronauts will take over command of China’s Tiangong space station from the Shenzhou-19 crew currently in orbit, and will spend about six months in space.
Shenzhou-20 is the 35th flight mission of China's manned space program, and the 5th manned mission during the application and development stage of China's space station.
The Shenzhou-20 spaceship, sitting atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, has been transferred to the launching area.
China to launch Shenzhou-20 manned spaceship on April 24
China to launch Shenzhou-20 manned spaceship on April 24
