Photo:CMSA

China's Shenzhou 17 mission is gearing up for launch on Thursday at 11:14 am, marking the sixth crewed spaceflight to the China Space Station and the second mission to Tiangong since the space station entered its development and application stage at the end of 2022. This launch follows a successful pre-launch rehearsal conducted on Tuesday.

The mission commander, Tang Hongbo, alongside crewmembers Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin, will form the youngest Shenzhou crew since the construction of the China Space Station. 

Notably, Tang Hongbo, a second-generation Chinese astronaut, will be the first of the batch to lead two other third-generation taikonauts in a Shenzhou mission. Tang, a former Shenzhou-12 crew member, will also become the first taikonaut to return to the Tiangong space station with the shortest interval between crewed spaceflight missions to date.

The Shenzhou-17 crewed spacecraft is anticipated to dock with the Tianhe space station core module approximately 6.5 hours after liftoff, forming a three-module three-ship assembly. 

The Shenzhou-17 is then expected to remain and work in space until around April 2024, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) spokesperson Lin Xiqiang on Wednesday.

A significant highlight of this mission, as revealed by the spokesperson, is the pioneering experimental extravehicular repair operations to be undertaken on the space station. The increasing prevalence of space debris has led to long-term operational spacecraft enduring inevitable impacts from minuscule space particles. Preliminary inspections have shown minor damage on the space station's solar wings due to multiple impacts from small space particles.

With all functions and performance indicators of the space station meeting  required standards, the Shenzhou 17 crew will embark on experimental extravehicular repairs through spacewalks. This task, deemed highly challenging, is aimed at elevating the capability and level of extravehicular activities to a new height, ensuring the long-term operational efficacy and technical validation of the space station, Lin noted.