China's newest manned spacecraft, Shenzhou-10, arrived in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, on March 31 after passing pre-delivery tests. It will blast off in early June, reported Xinhua News Agency.
The vessel's carrier rocket is undergoing various pre-delivery preparations, Xinhua said. The mission will carry three astronauts and dock with the Tiangong-1 orbital lab module.
Tiangong-1 was sent into space in September 2011. It docked with the Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft in November 2011 and the manned Shenzhou-9 in June last year.
The mission will, for the first time, see astronauts deliver a science lecture to young people from space. New experiments will be conducted in orbit.
China has launched four unmanned and five manned Shenzhou spacecraft and the unmanned Tiangong-1 space module since starting its manned space exploration program in 1992. |