China's next manned mission gets ready for launch

China's next manned mission, the Shenzhou XX, is scheduled to be launched in coming days to transport three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The Shenzhou XX spacecraft, crew, and carrier, a Long March 2F rocket, were moved to the service tower on Wednesday night at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert, the agency said in a brief news release, adding that launch equipment at the spaceport "are in good condition".

The release noted that the Shenzhou XX spacecraft and the rocket will undergo final functional checks in the next several days. It said the launch will take place in due course in the near future.

The Shenzhou XX crew will carry out China's 15th manned spaceflight and will become the ninth group of inhabitants of the Tiangong.

The crew members, whose names have yet to be disclosed, will take over the massive orbital outpost from their peers in the Shenzhou XIX — mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe and crew members Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze — who arrived on Oct 30. By the end of April, Cai's team will have stayed in orbit for nearly six months.