China has confirmed it will launch the crewed Shenzhou-11 space mission in 2016 to dock in orbit with the country’s second space laboratory.
According to state news agency Xinhua, China will first launch the country’s new Tiangong-2 space lab in the first half of the year, before sending three taikonauts into orbit on board Shenzhou-11.
The Shenzhou-11 mission will be launched by a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan launch centre in the Gobi desert.
Once in orbit, the Shenzhou craft will dock with Tiangong-2, with the taikonauts expected to carry out a range of science experiments.
Shenzhou-11 will be the country’s sixth human spaceflight mission and marks the next step in China’s plans to establish a space station in Low Earth Orbit.
The ambitious program will see the core module of the Chinese space station launched in 2018. It is scheduled to be completed by 2023.
It could shortly after become the world’s only space station. Partners to the International Space Station (ISS) have so far agreed to keep it operating until 2024, though this may be extended to 2028.
China has been barred from the largely US-led ISS due to American concerns over national security, contributing to China's decision to push ahead with its own station.
China is a latecomer to human spaceflight, having officially approved the so-called Shenzhou program in 1992, but it has made giant strides in the extremely demanding field.
After unmanned test flights, the country’s first attempt at human spaceflight took place in October 2003 with Shenzhou-5, which saw taikonaut Yang Liwei become China’s first person in space.
This made China only the third country to independently put an astronaut in space.
Since then China has launched four more crewed missions. Notably Liu Yang, below, became China’s first female in space in June 2012 onboard the Shenzhou-9 mission.
China’s latest crewed mission in 2013 saw China’s second female taikonaut Wang Yaping give a lecture from space.
Both Shenzhou-9 and -10 completed manual dockings with the Tiangong-1 space lab, launched in late 2011.
The identity of the crew for Shenzhou-11 has not been disclosed.
Possibilities from China’s Yuhangyuan (“astronaut”) program include Liu Wang, Zhang Xiaoguang as well as Liu Boming,Deng Qingming and Chun Panzhan, who were rumoured to be the back-up crew for Shenzhou-10.
One of China’s two female taikonauts could again be part of the crew or even command the mission. However, it is considered unlikely that China will risk sending pioneer Liu Yang back into space.
Aside from Shenzhou-11 and Tiangong-2, this year will be a crucial and busy year for China’s space program.
It will debut the largest and most complex rocket yet, the Long March 5, which will expand the country’s launch capacity by 2.5 times.
One variant of the heavy-lift Long March 5 will be capable of lifting 25 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit, making it comparable to the US’ Delta-IV Heavy rocket.
The cryogenic rocket will be fuelled by kerosene and liquid oxygen, and will be used to put space station modules in orbit. It will also be used for a lunar sample return mission in 2017 (Chang'e-5) and future interplanetary missions.
The first launch of the Long March 7, another of China's next-generation kerolox rockets, will take place in mid-2016. It is primarily designed for launching a supply and refuelling craft (Tianzhou) for the future space station.
Long March 5 and 7 will launch from the new, purpose-built Wenchang launch centre on the island province of Hainan.
Other space missions will include Beidou navigation and positioning satellites, Gaofen Earth observation satellites and a communications satellite for Belarus.
In the realms of space science, China will follow its Wukong dark matter probe launched in December with three further scientific satellites to perform quantum science experiments, research space life science, and observe black holes, neutron stars and other phenomena.
