The astronauts aboard Shenzhou-12 are going to be stationed within the core module and remain in orbit for 3 months. The crew will survive Tianhe, “Harmony of the Heaven”, a cylinder 16.6m long and 4.2m in diameter.
Astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo wave as they meet members of the media behind a glass wall before the Shenzhou-12 mission to create China's space platform , at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center near Jiuquan, Gansu .
China is predicted to launch a manned spacecraft with three astronauts on board at 9.22 am on Thursday from the Gobi , a politician at the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.
The Shenzhou-12 - Divine Vessel in Chinese - manned spaceship are going to be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the CMSA announced on Wednesday.
On board are going to be three male astronauts, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, chosen after a rigorous array of tests.
The three astronauts are going to be taken into space for the development of China’s space platform , the Xinhua press agency said. “After entering orbit, the spaceship will conduct a quick automated rendezvous and docking with the in-orbit space platform core module Tianhe, forming a posh with the core module and therefore the cargo craft Tianzhou-2.”
The astronauts aboard Shenzhou-12 are going to be stationed within the core module and remain in orbit for 3 months.
Tianhe is that the first module which will eventually form China’s own three-module space platform , which it began building in April. Shenzhou12 are going to be the third of 11 missions to finish China’s space platform.
The planned three-month stay would break China’s record of 30 days, set by the 2016 mission – China’s last crewed flight - of Chen Dong and Jing Haipeng to a prototype station. Of the three astronauts, two are considered veterans in China’s spaceflight history.
Nie, 56, will board the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft for his third flight, following his first during the Shenzhou-6 mission in October 2005 and second flight of Shenzhou-10 in June 2013.
Liu, 54, will join Nie within the upcoming mission after his first trip to space in September 2008 during the Shenzhou-7 spaceship mission.
Both Nie and Liu were fighter pilots with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force.
The third crewman , Tang Hongbo, 46, was selected from the second batch of astronauts in 2011.
“China selected its first batch of 14 astronauts within the mid-1990s. Since 2003, it's sent six astronauts into space, including Yang Liwei, the country’s first astronaut, and Zhai Zhigang, who administered China’s first activity in September 2008,” Global Times reported.
The backup crew members for the Shenzhou 12 mission include one woman astronaut - Wang Yaping, who was a part of the Shenzhou-10 mission in 2013.
On May 30, a cargo spacecraft carrying supplies including food and equipment docked with China’s first space station’s key module Tianhe as a part of the preparation for the station to host three astronauts this month.
The unmanned Tianzhou-2, or “Heavenly Vessel” in Chinese, docked with Tianhe (the key module).
The launch and docking of Tianzhou-2 was administered a month after Tianhe, the primary a part of the space platform Tiangong, “Heavenly Palace” in Chinese, was launched.
In late April, China sent to space Tianhe, the management and control hub of Tiangong, the permanent space platform , which it plans to finish by 2022 as a part of its ambitious space programme.
The Tianhe, which was sent to orbit by a rocket, can provide electricity and accommodate three astronauts for up to 6 months.
