Building a space station, China prepares to launch Shenzhou-14 with its crew

Here, the three astronauts will work and live for six months during construction Space Station enter the sprint phase.

Long March-2F missile carried spaceship Shenzhou-14 and its crew will be launched into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province, northwest China, at 10:44 am on June 5 (Beijing time), an official from the Department of Defense said. China Manned Space Administration (CMSA) said in a press conference on June 4.

The three astronauts will be commanders Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Tai Suzhe on the Shenzhou-14 mission (which means “Divine Ship” in Chinese).

All preparations for the launch are basically ready.

The rocket and spacecraft complex is located near the launch tower. (Photo: CGTN)

The Shenzhou-14 mission will be the third of four crewed missions and the seventh of 11 missions needed to complete the space station by the end of the year.

China began construction of its three-module space station in April 2021 with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of the station’s three modules.

The galaxy core module, slightly larger than a metro bus, will become inhabited by astronauts once the T-shaped space station is completed.

After Than Chau-14, the remaining two modules, the Wentian and Mong Thien laboratory cabins, will be put into operation in July and October respectively.

From left: Three cosmonauts Cai Tuzhe, Tran Dong and Luu Duong at a press conference on June 4, 2022 before the Shenzhou-14 mission. (Photo: AP)

The Wentian laboratory cabin module will have a robotic arm, an interlocking cabin for trips outside the station and additional living quarters for three astronauts while the crew works here.

The Shenzhou-14 crew will assemble the Wentian and Mengtian, as well as conduct functional tests on both modules.

The space station will have a design life of 10 years. At 180 tons, it will weigh slightly more than Russia’s decommissioned Hoa Binh Space Station (Mir) and about 20% of the mass of the International Space Station (ISS).

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