The three astronauts of China's 14th manned spaceflight, the Shenzhou XIX mission, headed to the launch tower early on Wednesday morning after a see-off ceremony in front of their residential building at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe and crew members Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze reported to the commander-in-chief of the country's manned space program, General Xu Xueqiang, that they were ready for the coming mission and asked for permission to embark on the expedition.
Mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe (middle) and crew members Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong (right) and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze are at the see-off ceremony. [Photo by Wang Jiangbo/for chinadaily.com.cn]
Xu gave his permission before the crew saluted him and all participants in the brief event, and then the astronauts boarded their coach to the launch tower. Many workers and residents at the Jiuquan center lined the route to cheer the astronauts on their way as the vehicle passed.
The Long March 2F carrier rocket, which will launch the Shenzhou XIX team, begun to be filled with propellants on Tuesday morning and is scheduled to blast off at 4:27 am local time on Wednesday.
After entering orbit, the spaceship is programmed to fly for around six and a half hours, before docking with the Tiangong space station.
Mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe (middle) and crew members Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong (right) and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze are at the see-off ceremony. [Photo by Su Dong/for chinadaily.com.cn]
The Shenzhou XIX team will be the eighth batch of inhabitants of the space station, which was completed in late 2022.
Cai and his teammates will replace their peers on the Shenzhou XVIII flight, who have already been in orbit for six months.
