China launched a Long March 2F rocket on Wednesday to deliver its first crewed spacecraft to the core module of the new Tiangong space station. Liftoff is imminent.
The last Chinese crewed spaceflight was Shenzhou-11 in 2016, when astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong docked with the Tiangong-2 lab in October, returning after a month. Haipeng's 47 cumulative days in orbit set a national record at the time.
Shenzhou-12 marks China's next crewed launch, the third of 11 missions in the station's 2021-2022 assembly phase. Tianzhou-3 cargo and Shenzhou-13 crewed flights will follow in September and October.
The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft atop a Long March 2F rocket arrived at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China's Gobi Desert in early April. On June 9, the stack was raised vertically on the pad, according to SpaceNews.
Official launch date remains unannounced. Originally targeting June 10, the mission faces potential delays after a week-long slip in the Tianzhou-2 cargo flight.
Three taikonauts will rendezvous with the Tianhe core module. Crew identities and exact mission duration are undisclosed, but it's expected to extend at least until September.
The crew will adapt to the new station, conducting thorough checks on the core module's systems and performance. Extravehicular activities (EVAs) will verify spacesuit functionality.
Once complete, Tiangong will be about one-fifth the mass of the ISS but capable of hosting three astronauts for up to six months. They'll perform scientific experiments, prepare for deep-space missions, and potentially welcome international visitors, including Europeans.
