(Xinhua)
Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze will carry out the Shenzhou-19 human spaceflight mission, of which Cai will be commander, the China Human Spaceflight Agency announced at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Shenzhou-19 manned spacecraft is expected to be launched at 4:27 a.m. (Beijing time) on Wednesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, said Lin Xiqiang, a spokesperson for the agency.
Cai Xuzhe completed the Shenzhou-14 space mission in 2022. Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, who are part of the third group of Chinese astronauts, are both newcomers to space. Both were born in the 1990s.
Song Lingdong was a former Air Force pilot before being selected as an astronaut, and Wang Haoze previously served as a senior engineer at the Aerospace Propulsion Technology Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology. Technology Corporation.
Wang Haoze is currently the only female spaceflight engineer in China and will become the third Chinese woman to embark on a crewed spaceflight mission, the agency noted.
The Shenzhou-19 astronauts will complete their orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-18 trio and remain on the space station for approximately six months. They will witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-8 cargo ship and the Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft during the mission.
Many tasks await the new crew: carrying out space science and applications tests, carrying out extravehicular activities, installing protection devices against space debris, or even installing and recycling payloads as well as extravehicular equipment. Crew members will also participate in science education and public welfare activities, as well as other payload testing.
Shenzhou-19 astronauts are expected to return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region in late April or early May next year, according to the agency. END
