Space station beckons Chinese trio

A three-member crew of male astronauts will blast off next month for a three-month mission on China’s new space station, according to a space official who was the country’s first astronaut in orbit.

The comments were made by Yang Liwei, the manned space programme’s deputy chief designer. The Shenzhou 12 capsule carrying the crew will be launched from the Jiuquan base in China’s northwest next month, Yang said in comments broadcast Saturday by CCTV.

Beijing doesn’t participate in the International Space Station, largely due to US objections.

China has sent 11 astronauts, including two women, into space beginning with Yang’s flight in October 2003. The first female astronaut was Liu Yang in 2012.

Earlier on Sunday, a cargo spacecraft carrying supplies including food and equipment docked with China’s first space station’s key module Tianhe, state media announced as the station prepares to host three astronauts in June.

The unmanned Tianzhou-2, or “Heavenly Vessel” in Chinese, docked with Tianhe, the key module, at 5.01am Beijing time, news agency Xinhua said.

The launch and docking of

Tianzhou-2 comes a month after Tianhe, which is the first part of the space station Tiangong, “Heavenly Palace” in Chinese, was launched.

In late April, China sent to space Tianhe, the management and control hub of Tiangong, the permanent space station, which it plans to complete by 2022 as part of its ambitious space programme.