China to launch Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship on Oct. 30

JIUQUAN, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) — China’s Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 4:27 a.m. Wednesday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country’s northwest, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced Tuesday.
Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, said at a press conference that the launch will use a Long March-2F carrier rocket, which will soon be filled with propellant.
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.
After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-19 spaceship will perform a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the front port of the space station core module Tianhe in about 6.5 hours, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft, Lin said.
Product qualities of the Shenzhou-19 spaceship and the Long March-2F carrier rocket are under control. The Shenzhou-19 crew is in good condition. Ground system facilities and equipment are in stable operation, Lin said.
He added that the space station combination is now in normal status and all preparations for the launch have been completed.
The Shenzhou-18 crew, currently in orbit, is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on Nov. 4 after completing the work handover to the Shenzhou-19 crew.
According to Lin, due to the impact of Super Typhoon Yagi on the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province, where the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft is to be launched, the Tianzhou-8 mission has been rescheduled for mid-November.
Preparations for Tianzhou-8 are progressing smoothly in accordance with the revised plan.
Lin added that the planning of China’s space station missions has taken into account similar situations, and there is now an ample supply of materials in orbit. ■