China to launch Shenzhou XIV manned mission
The Shenzhou XIV mission - China’s ninth manned spaceflight – is scheduled for launch on Sunday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite(n|卫星，人造卫星|adj|卫视的) Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert, according to a senior mission official.
Lin Xiqiang, deputy(n|代表) head of the China Manned Space Agency, said at a news conference inside the Jiuquan center Saturday morning the three crew(n|全体工作人员，一群人，专业团队) members – Senior Colonel(n|上校) Chen Dong, Senior Colonel Liu Yang and Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe – will be sent to the Tiangong space station and stay there for half a year to continue the assembly(n|集合，集会，装配，立法机构) of the colossal(adj|巨像的，巨大的) station.
The Long March 2F carrier rocket lifting the Shenzhou XIV spacecraft will blast(n|一阵，爆炸，冲击波|v|炸，摧毁) off at 10:44 am, he said.
Chen will be mission commander. All crew members are from the second generation of the country’s astronauts(n|宇航员).
Before them the Shenzhou XII and XIII three-member crews lived inside the Tiangong, which is traveling in low-Earth orbit(vt|沿轨道运行|vi|盘旋，绕轨道运行|n|轨道，势力范围) about 400 kilometers high. The Shenzhou XIII crew returned in mid-April.
In early May, the Tianzhou 4 cargo(n|货物) spacecraft was launched by a Long March 7 rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, transporting nearly 6 metric(adj|米制的，公制的|n|度量标注) tons(n|吨) of propellants(n|推进物，发射火药|adj|推进的) and materials to Tiangong.
Tiangong consists of the Tianhe core module, the Tianzhou 3 and the Tianzhou 4.
In July, the station’s first lab component – Wentian, or Quest(n|搜索，寻求|v|寻找，搜索) for the Heavens – will be launched, while the second lab named Mengtian, or Dreaming of the Heavens, will be sent to dock with the station in October. After they are connected with the Tiangong, the station will form a T-shaped structure.
After the space labs, the Tianzhou 5 cargo craft and the Shenzhou XV crew are scheduled to arrive at the massive(adj|巨大的，大规模的，大量的，非常严重的) orbiting outpost(n|前哨，偏远居民区，前哨基地) around the end of the year, according to mission officials.
The Tiangong is expected to operate for up to 15 years and will serve as a scientific platform, space officials have said, noting it will also be open to foreign astronauts.