China gears up for Shenzhou XVIII manned space mission

Military Space News

China gears up for Shenzhou XVIII manned space mission

illustration only

China gears up for Shenzhou XVIII manned space mission
by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Apr 18, 2024
The China Manned Space Agency has announced that the Shenzhou XVIII mission is poised for launch in the upcoming days, aiming to deliver three astronauts to the Tiangong space station.

On Wednesday, the Shenzhou XVIII crew spacecraft, along with its Long March 2F rocket, was transferred to the service tower at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in the Gobi Desert of northwestern China. The agency reported that the spacecraft and its carrier rocket are scheduled for final inspections shortly.

This upcoming mission marks China's 13th manned venture into space and represents the first crewed journey to Tiangong this year.

The astronauts for the Shenzhou XVIII mission have not been publicly named yet. They are set to replace the current inhabitants of the station, the Shenzhou XVII team-commanded by Senior Colonel Tang Hongbo, with crew members Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Xinlin and Lieutenant Colonel Tang Shengjie-who have been in orbit since October 26 and will complete a six-month tenure by the end of April.

Based on a Xinhua News Agency article

Related Links
China Manned Space Agency
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters

RELATED CONTENT

The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.

China finds use for space tech in extending food shelf life
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Apr 12, 2024
The China Academy of Space Technology has repurposed a barrier film originally designed for space stations to enhance food preservation on Earth, illustrating a key application of space research in everyday life. Researchers at the academy demonstrated the benefits of this new high-barrier film by comparing the freshness of tofu stored in traditional packaging versus their innovative material. After a week, the tofu in the conventional package decayed while the tofu wrapped in the high-barrier fil ... read more

West repelled strike on Israel -- why not Ukraine, asks Estonia PM

Jordan says won't become 'theatre of war' between Israel and Iran

Ukraine has 'critical need' for air defence: NATO chief

Ukraine 'ran out' of missiles to defend key plant, Zelensky says

Russian missile attacks kill 8 in Ukraine, damage residential building and railway

Russian missile barrage on Ukraine city kills 18

Hezbollah says launched new rocket barrage at Israeli-annexed Golan

Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon reopen airspace closed over Iran attack on Israel

China's Low-Altitude Economy Set for Rapid Expansion

EU to impose new sanctions on Iran drone, missile producers

Iran says drones shot down, 'no missile attack for now'

U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran drone program in response to Israel attack

Troposcatter Technology by Ultra I&C enhances global defense networks

ATLAS Integrates DoD antenna into Hybrid Space Architecture

Eutelsat and Intelsat forge $500M partnership to expand OneWeb constellation

Satellites for quantum communications

Slovaks buy bullets for Ukraine in defiance of Russia-friendly PM

German defence giant to build ammunition plant in Lithuania

House passes $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

US lawmakers pass new Ukraine aid after costly delay

Conflicts push military spending to 'all-time high': report

US, Canada target Belarus with sanctions over support for Russia's war

In Scranton, aging US factory makes shells for Ukraine

EU chief demands 'European awakening' on defence

China's Wang meets Jokowi, Indonesian president-elect Prabowo

NATO, EU chiefs welcome US Ukraine aid; Blinken heads to China with message on Russia

US, China defense chiefs hold first talks in nearly 18 months

Maldives votes in the shadow of India-China rivalry

Researchers unveil novel technique for creating atomically thin nanoscrolls

MIT.nano equipment to accelerate innovation in "tough tech" sectors

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.