The Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:44 p.m. Friday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Thursday.

Preparations for the Shenzhou-21 crewed mission are progressing steadily. The Long March-2F Y21 carrier rocket, which will be used for the launch, is going to be filled with propellant, said Zhang Jingbo, spokesperson for the CMSA, at a press conference.

According to the plan, after entering the orbit, the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship will adopt a fast automated rendezvous and docking mode and dock with the front port of the Tianhe core module in about 3.5 hours, forming a three-spacecraft and three-module combination, Zhang said.