China sets its 5th manned space mission for summer
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China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou 5 lifts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in north-west China's Gansu Province on Oct 15, 2013. China will send three astronauts to its orbiting space station this summer in a mission that is part of preparations to establish an even larger permanent presence above Earth. -- FILE PHOTO: AP
BEIJING (AP) - China will send three astronauts to its orbiting space station this summer in a mission that is part of preparations to establish an even larger permanent presence above Earth.
The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft will take flight sometime between June and August, the country's manned space programme said on Thursday.
The craft will deliver its crew to the Tiangong 1, where the trio will spend two weeks conducting tests of the station's docking system and its systems for supporting life and carrying out scientific work.
Two Chinese spacecraft, one of them manned, have docked with Tiangong 1 since its launch in September 2011.
