China is gearing up to send a new crew up to the newly-completed space station.Â
A Long March 2F rocket tipped with the Shenzhou 15 crew spacecraft was rolled out to the pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Monday (Nov. 21), China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSA, announced (opens in new tab).
The rocket was transferred vertically around 0.9 miles (1.5 kilometers) from the assembly building to the launch pad. The Long March 2F/Shenzhou combination has a tell-tale spike above the payload fairing which is an escape system to carry the crew capsule to safety in the event of a dangerous launch anomaly.
Related: Chinese astronauts enter newly arrived cargo spacecraft at Tiangong space station
CMSA has yet to announce who the three mission crew members will be, nor has it released a planned time and date for launch. However the rollout indicates that China aims to launch Shenzhou 15 before the end of November, and primary and backup crews will be on standby at the launch center.
The Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft was launched to the space station on Nov. 11 to deliver supplies for the upcoming crew missions.
After launch Shenzhou 15 will head for the Tiangong space station. The crew will be greeted aboard the newly-completed, three-module space space station by the Shenzhou 14 mission astronauts.
The mission will mark the first crew handover and the first time Tiangong has been fully operational. The Shenzhou 14 astronauts — who were aboard to oversee two modules launched to Tiangong — will then be expected to return home in early December, days after the arrival of Shenzhou 15.
China aims to keep the station permanently occupied for at least a decade, with crews of three spending six months at a time aboard Tiangong, carrying out a range of science experiments and outreach activities.Â
China could also open Tiangong to foreign astronauts and even to tourists at some point in the future, according to statements made by Chinese officials.
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