China unveils Shenzhou-19 crew for space station mission

This photo shows Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe (C), Song Lingdong (R) and Wang Haoze who will carry out the Shenzhou-19 spaceflight mission. Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze will carry out the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceflight mission, and Cai will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Tuesday. [Xinhua]

JIUQUAN -- Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze will carry out the Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceflight mission, and Cai will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

The Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 4:27 a.m. Wednesday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, said Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson of the agency.

Cai completed the Shenzhou-14 space mission in 2022. Song and Wang, among the third batch of Chinese astronauts, are newcomers to space. Both of them were born in the 1990s.

Song was a former air force pilot before being selected as an astronaut, and Wang previously served as a senior engineer at the Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Wang is currently China's only female space flight engineer and will become the third Chinese woman to embark on a crewed spaceflight mission, the agency noted.

The Shenzhou-19 astronauts will complete in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-18 trio and stay at the space station for approximately six months, witnessing the arrival of the Tianzhou-8 cargo craft and Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship during the mission.

Many tasks await the new crew to complete: conducting space science and application tests, performing extravehicular activities, installing protective devices against space debris, installing and recycling extravehicular payloads and equipment. They will also engage in science education, public welfare activities, and other payload tests.

The Shenzhou-19 astronauts are scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in late April or early May next year, according to the agency.