THE Shenzhou-17 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:14 a.m. today from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced yesterday. The spaceship will carry three astronauts — Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin — to carry out the Shenzhou-17 spaceflight mission. Tang Hongbo will be the commander, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, at a press conference. Shenzhou-17 is the 30th flight mission of China’s manned space program, and the 12th manned mission of the program. The crew will stay in orbit for about six months. The launch will use a Long March-2F carrier rocket, which will be filled with propellant soon, Lin said. The astronauts will perform various in-orbit space science and application payload tests and experiments, Lin said. They will carry out extravehicular activities (EVAs), install extravehicular payloads and conduct space station maintenance and other tasks, said Lin. The Shenzhou-17 astronauts will do extravehicular experimental maintenance for the first time, which is a very challenging task, Lin added. With space debris increasing, their impact on long-term operating spacecraft is inevitable, Lin said. “Through preliminary inspections, we have found that the solar wings of the space station had been hit by tiny space particles several times, causing minor damages.” “Of course, we already took this into consideration in the design stage. At present, all functionality and performance indicators of the space station meet requirements,” he added. Lin said extravehicular experimental maintenance is geared towards the long-term operation of the space station. The astronauts will also continue to assess the functioning and performance of the space station and test the coordination and compatibility of ground support centers in performing space station operation and management tasks. (Xinhua) | 