JIUQUAN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:08 p.m. on Sunday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Saturday.
A Long March-2F carrier rocket, which will be used for this launch, will later be filled with propellant, said Zhang Jingbo, the CMSA spokesperson, at a press conference.
Shenzhou-23 is the seventh crewed mission of the application and development stage of China's space station, and the 40th flight mission of China's manned space program.
After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship will adopt a fast automated rendezvous and docking mode and dock with the radial port of the Tianhe core module, forming a three-spacecraft and three-module combination, Zhang said.
Currently, the quality of both spaceship and rocket is under control, the astronaut crew is in good health, the ground-system facilities and equipment are operating stably, and the space station combination is in normal condition, meeting all the necessary conditions for carrying out the upcoming launch mission.
The Shenzhou-21 crew will return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after completing the in-orbit handover with the Shenzhou-23 crew, the spokesperson added. ■
