Chinese astronauts training for planned space station

BEIJING — China said Thursday a group of astronauts is training for four crewed missions this year as the country works to complete its first permanent orbiting space station.

The station’s core module, christened Tianhe, could be launched as soon as next month, according to the China National Space Administration and foreign observers. The Long March-5b Y2 rocket and its payload were moved into place last month at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in tropical Hainan province for assembly and testing.

That launch would be the first of 11 missions over the next two years to finish constructing the station by the end of 2022. Two other modules will be launched later, with four Tianzhou cargo supply missions and the four Shenzhou crewed missions.

CNSA listed 12 astronauts training for the crewed missions, including veterans of previous Shenzhou flights, newcomers and women, but it wasn’t clear if others were selected.

Up to three crew members will live at a time in the the core module, which has docking ports to allow the attachment of scientific modules launched later.

China has launched two smaller experimental space stations to test measures for rendezvous, docking and life support aboard. Once completed, the permanent space station will allow for stays of up to six months.