China unveiled the crew of upcoming Shenzhou-16 manned spaceflight mission on Monday. Veteran taikonaut Jing Haipeng, who will visit space for the fourth time during the mission set to be launched on Tuesday 9:31 am, will serve as the mission commander and lead two fresh faces from the third cohort of Chinese astronauts.
Zhu Yangzhu will serve as the flight engineer and Gui Haichao as the mission’s payload expert, the Global Times learned from the China Manned Space Agency （CMSA） on Monday morning. As the first manned spaceflight mission at the China Space Station application and development stage, Shenzhou-16 mission will include two dockings and two evacuation returns，according to the CMSA spokesperson.
As the first manned spaceflight mission at the China Space Station application and development stage, Shenzhou-16 manned spaceflight mission will for the first time consist of three types of taikonauts – a space pilot, flight engineer and payload expert. It will be the first manned space flight mission for the latter two types of taikonauts.
It is planned that China will launch the Shenzhou-16 manned spaceflight mission from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China’s Gansu Province on Tuesday morning at around 9:31 am.
(Global Times)
