China to launch Shenzhou-14 crewed spaceship on June 5

The Shenzhou-14 crewed spaceship will be launched at around 10:44 a.m. Sunday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, announced the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Saturday.

After entering orbit, the spaceship will adopt fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a complex with Tianhe as well as the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-3 and Tianzhou-4, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, at a press conference held at the launch center.

At present, the complex of Tianhe, Tianzhou-3 and Tianzhou-4 works in normal condition and is ready for rendezvous, docking and the astronauts’ entry, Lin said.

The quality of both the Shenzhou-14 spaceship and the Long March-2F carrier rocket has been well checked. The crew is in good condition, and the ground system facilities are in stable operation, Lin said.