BEIJING, October 29. /TASS/. China will launch the Shenzhou-19 manned spacecraft with a crew of three taikonauts from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on October 30, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Human Space Mission Agency.

“The Shenzhou-19 spacecraft will be launched on October 30 at 4:27 a.m. Beijing time (8:27 p.m. GMT on October 29),” he said at a press conference.

According to Lin Xiqiang, the three taikonauts of the Shenzhou-18 mission, in orbit for six months, will return to Earth after rotation on November 4. The Shenzhou-19 team, which will replace them, will remain at the station. until the end of April or the beginning of May 2025.

The Chinese station is located at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers and will operate for more than 10 years. It is designed for three people (up to six for short periods in case of crew rotation). The mass of the complex in the shape of the letter T (in the near future it is planned to expand it into a cruciform shape), which has three docking nodes and an airlock for entering space, is 66 tons, the compartment volume reaches 110 cubic meters. The orbital facility became operational in 2022 and has been available for international projects since then.