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China to launch 2 crewed missions each year: China Manned Space Agency
CGTN
Part of China's space station. /CMSA
Part of China's space station. /CMSA

Part of China's space station. /CMSA

China will send two manned spacecraft and one or two cargo spacecraft every year to its space station, which has entered a new phase of application and development following its completion last year, said China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Wednesday.

The CMSA introduced the country's 2023 space mission plan in the newly initiated solicitation announcement for the mission logos. 

China will send the Tianzhou-6 cargo ship in May to dock with the aft port of the core module, forming a configuration of three modules and two ships. It will take supplies for the in-orbit taikonauts, maintenance spare parts, propellants and samples of applied mission payloads. In-orbit wastes will be brought back by the cargo ship.

In the same month, a three-member crew will be launched onboard the Shenzhou-16 spaceship, which will dock with the radial port of the core module.

In October, China will launch the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft, which will then dock with the front port of the core module.

During the two manned missions, multiple activities and tasks will be carried out, including extravehicular activities of astronauts and of cargo airlock cabin, space science and technology experiments, routine work of platform management and taikonaut support, as well as science popularization and education.

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