China to launch manned space mission Shenzhou 11 on Monday

Sun Oct 16, 2016 | 4:11am EDT

By Jake Spring and Meng Meng | BEIJING

Reuters

China will launch a two-man space mission, Shenzhou 11, on Monday, officials with the space program said, taking the country closer to its ambition of setting up a permanent manned space station by 2022.

President Xi Jinping has called for China to establish itself as a space power, and it has tested anti-satellite missiles[反卫星导弹], in addition to its civilian aims[民用目标].

China says its space program is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted its increasing capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries[对手;敌人] from using space-based assets in a crisis[在危机时刻利用太空资源].

After Monday's launch at 7:30 a.m. (2330 GMT) in the remote northwestern province of Gansu, the astronauts will dock with[对接] the Tiangong 2 space laboratory[天宫二号空间实验室], where they will spend about a month.

"This mission is characterized by its longer duration and more tests," Chen Dong, the junior astronaut on the mission, told reporters in a televised news conference. "We will focus on improving our ability to handle emergencies in orbit, medical first aid, mutual rescue capabilities and space experiments."

Shenzhou 11 will be the third space mission for Jing Haipeng, who will command the mission and pass his 50th birthday in space.

The spacecraft, whose name translates as "Divine Vessel[神舟]", will also carry three experiments designed by Hong Kong middle school students and selected in a science competition, including one that will take silk worms[蚕] into space.

香港大公文汇传媒集团记者:神舟十一号升空将进行三项香港中学生提出的科学实验，请问你们将如何进行这些科学实验，在地面上进行相关的训练没有，在升空之前对香港的中学生们有什么话说。谢谢。

陈冬:这一次香港中学生提出了三项科学试验，分别是太空养蚕、双摆和聚合物薄膜，我感到他们的设计真的是充满了奇思妙想，这些实验我们在地面已经做好了充分的训练，将在组合体运行期间择机开展，我相信也一定能够达到预期的效果。你们很期待，我们同样也很期待。让我们共同期待这奇妙的一刻。想对香港的小设计师们和所有热爱航天的青少年朋友说，期待有一天你们也能够加入到我们的行列，飞上太空，亲自去探索宇宙的奥秘。谢谢。

China launched its second experimental space lab Tiangong 2, or "Heavenly Palace 2", last month.

While China to date has focused on near-Earth[近地] space exploration, future missions will be bigger and go farther than 400 km (249 miles), said Zhang Yulin, an official with the space program and the Central Military Commission[中央军事委员会].

The country's space program will soon move from exploratory testing[探索性试验/测试] to normal operations with the launch of the next space station, Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang as saying.

"Then spacecraft launches won't be like now, one every few years, instead there will be several each year."

(Reporting by Jake Spring and Meng Meng; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=v0337on68yc&width=500&height=375&auto=0

神舟十一号载人飞船任务航天员与记者见面会

（英文同传）

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