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Added on the 05/03/2016 14:52:25 - Copyright : Reuters - Next Media
China will send its second space lab, Tiangong-2 into space next week, as part of its plan to field a manned space station that is expected to be in service around 2022.
Astronauts Jiang Xinlin, Tang Hongbo and Tang Shengjie participate in a farewell ceremony in China's Jiuquan. The Shenzhou-17 module carrying the trio to the station is scheduled to blast off at 11:14 am (0314 GMT) Thursday from the launch site in China's northwest. IMAGES
The Shenzhou-16 crew takes off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. IMAGES
Chinese astronauts say goodbye before the launch of the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft, which will take off aboard a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. It will carry mission commander Jing Haipeng on his fourth extra-terrestrial trip, as well as engineer Zhu Yangzhu and Beihang University professor Gui Haichao, the first Chinese civilian in space. IMAGES
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Jing Haipeng, and Gui Haichao arrive for a press briefing before the Shenzhou-16 launch to the Tiangong space station. They are set to take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China on Tuesday at 9:31 am (0131 GMT). IMAGES