Shenzhou XIX space launch expected soon

China's next manned mission, the Shenzhou XIX, is scheduled to be launched in the coming days to transport three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The Shenzhou XIX crew spacecraft and its carrier, a Long March 2F rocket, were moved to the service tower on Tuesday afternoon at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert, the agency said in a brief news release, adding that the launch equipment at the spaceport "are in good condition".

The release noted that the Shenzhou XIX spacecraft and the rocket will undergo final functional checks in the next few days. It said the launch will take place in due course.The Shenzhou XIX crew will carry out China's 14th manned spaceflight and will become the eighth group of inhabitants of the Tiangong.

The crew members, whose names have yet to be disclosed, will take over the massive orbital outpost from their peers in the Shenzhou XVIII — mission commander Senior Colonel Ye Guangfu and crew members Lieutenant Colonel Li Guangsu and Lieutenant Colonel Li Cong — who arrived on April 26.

By the end of October, Ye's team will have stayed in orbit for six months.