Final rehearsal for Shenzhou XVII flight completed, CCTV reports

The final all-systems rehearsal for China's upcoming manned Shenzhou XVII spaceflight took place on Tuesday morning, according to China Central Television.

Organized by the Beijing Aerospace Control Center — the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Xi'an Satellite Control Center and spacecraft tracking ships simulated all the processes for the spaceflight, the State broadcaster said, adding checks and pre-launch preparations were completed.

Astronauts for the Shenzhou XVII mission, whose names have yet to be disclosed, also participated in the rehearsal.

Since they arrived at the Jiuquan center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert, the crew has studied flight documents and practiced spacecraft maneuvers. They are fully prepared for the mission, CCTV reported.

The Long March 2F carrier rocket, which will launch the Shenzhou XVII spacecraft, will start to be injected with propellants in due course, the report said.

The six-month Shenzhou XVII mission will be the nation's 12th manned space mission and the sixth crewed flight to the Tiangong space station.

The Shenzhou XVI crew — commander Major General Jing Haipeng, spaceflight engineer Colonel Zhu Yangzhu and the mission's science payloads specialist Professor Gui Haichao — have been in orbit for nearly five months.

They are expected to return to Earth after several days of handing over to the Shenzhou XVII crew.

Orbiting about 400 kilometers above the ground, Tiangong is one of the largest and most sophisticated spacecraft ever placed in orbit. It consists of three major components, the Tianhe core module and Wentian and Mengtian science lab modules — and is connected to two visiting craft, the Shenzhou XVI crew ship and the Tianzhou 6 cargo ship.