China unveils Shenzhou-15 crew for space station mission

The combination of the Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket is to be transferred to the launching area in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Nov. 21, 2022.(Photo by Li Yunxi/Xinhua)
The Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:08 p.m. Tuesday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The launch will be carried out with a Long March-2F carrier rocket.
After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-15 spaceship will make a fast, automated rendezvous and dock with the front port of the space station's core module, Tianhe. The space station will then be expanded to its largest configuration with three modules and three spaceships, having a total mass of nearly 100 tonnes, Ji said.
The three modules refer to Tianhe and two lab modules Wentian and Mengtian, and the three spaceships the cargo craft Tianzhou-5 and two spaceships Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-14.
Also on Monday, the CMSA announced that a number of space science application projects jointly selected by China and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs or with the European Space Agency are being implemented as planned, and related payloads will be launched to get into China's space station for experiments next year.
China will also welcome astronauts from other countries to enter its space station to conduct experiments, said Ji at the press conference.