China will launch three astronauts to the Tiangong space station on Sunday for a mission that will relieve a crew stuck in orbit for a month longer than originally planned. This may be China’s first spaceflight in a year.
The Long March 2F rocket, carrying the Shenzhou 23 mission, is on the launch pad in the Gobi Desert, while airspace closures call for the launch to take place around 11:10 PM Beijing time.
The three-person crew will be aboard Tiangong for about six months, but the way the mission is put together adds a strangely different timeline twist that’s like, you know, not what you’d immediately expect.
Because Shenzhou 24, set to launch later this year, will have a Pakistani astronaut on board for a short layover, one crew member of Shenzhou 23 will essentially remain in orbit when the Pakistani visitor returns to the departing spacecraft.
The astronaut will spend a full year in space, which would be a historic first for China’s manned space program.
The China Manned Space Agency had kept the crew’s names secret until a press conference just one day before the launch at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Wednesday’s pre-launch rehearsal showed that everything looks operational. Astronauts underwent medical assessments and final preparations.
The agency has not set an official launch time. Instead, it says Shenzhou 23 will take off “at an appropriate time in the near future”, although airspace reports suggest Sunday morning.
The Shenzhou 23 crew will take over from the Shenzhou 21 astronauts, whose mission exceeded the original schedule due to emergency situations.
