A press conference on the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceflight mission was held at the Qiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China on the morning of October 30 (Thursday).
The spokesperson said that the Shenzhou-21 manned spacecraft will be launched at 11:44 pm on Friday. Astronauts Chang Lu, Wu Fei and Chang Hongzhang will conduct the mission. Chang Lu will serve as the commander of the mission.
It is reported that this mission is the sixth manned flight of the space station in the “application and development phase” and the 37th flight mission of China’s manned space program.
The main objectives of this mission include: handing over the responsibility to the Shenzhou-20 crew in orbit, staying on the space station for about 6 months, carrying out space science and application work, completing extravehicular activities and cargo transfer from the cabin. In addition, it will conduct science outreach and public welfare activities, and monitor the multifaceted functionality of the space station, including conducting ‘space carrying experiments’.
Source: Prema-Tauhid-Chai, China Media Group.