Shenzhou IX may take female astronaut to space

BEIJING - Authorities have completed the initial selection of crew members for China's first manned space docking mission, and the roster includes female astronauts, an official with the country's manned space program has said.

But the final three-person crew will be decided "on the very last condition," said Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of the country's manned space program and deputy head of the General Armament Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The manned spacecraft Shenzhou IX will take its crew members to board the Tiangong-1 space module lab, which was launched in September last year and completed the country's first space docking with the unmanned Shenzhou-IIV spacecraft in November.

The selected astronauts are in training at the moment, Niu, who is also a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), said on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session.

Assembly on the Shenzhou IX and its carrier rocket, the Long March-2F, has been completed, and the manned space docking is due between June and August this year, he said.

"The perfect docking between Shenzhou-IIV and Tiangong-1 has laid the perfect foundation for the manned docking this year," Niu said, noting that the manned docking will feature brand new technology.

Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace-1, has been orbiting normally for more than 160 days, and is capable of docking with Shenzhou IX and accommodating astronauts, he said.