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An artist's rendering of the Tiangong-1 module, China's space station, which was launched to space in September, 2011. To the right is a Shenzhou spacecraft, preparing to dock with the module. Image Credit: CNSA

The Chinese government has announced they will launch three taikonauts sometime in mid-June 2012, on the first manned mission to dock with their orbiting experimental module, and confirmed again that the crew might include Chinas first female space traveler. A rocket carrying the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft was moved to a launch pad in Chinas desert northwest over the weekend, Chinas Xinhua News Agency reported.

The three-member crew will dock with and live inside the Tiangong 1 (or Heavenly Palace-1) orbital module launched last year. No word on how long the mission will be. We reported in March that the crew possibly could include a woman, and Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of the countrys manned space program, said the final selection would depend on conditions nearer the time of launch. This type of late announcement of the crew is not unprecedented in the past, Chinas space program has named the crew for the next mission just a few days before launch.

From previous reports, China picked two women and five men from thousands of candidates to become the second batch of seven astronaut trainees in 2010. Both of the women were former fighter jet pilots.

The manned space program would not be complete without womens participation, Jiao Weixin, an earth and space scientist with Peking University, was quoted as saying.

China launched their first human mission in 2003. They have launched two other human missions, one of which included a space walk in 2008.

Zhou Jianping, chief designer of Chinas human space program, said that the mission will be a significant step in Chinas space history, because its the first time for a Chinese spacecraft to send astronauts into a space lab, instead of just carrying them to circle the Earth as in the previous three manned missions, the Chinese Daily reported.

During the flight, one crew member will remain aboard the Shenzhou 9 as a precautionary measure in case of emergency while the others enter Tiangong 1, Xinhua said.

Well keep you updated on any announcements of the crew or when the launch will take place.

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Upcoming First Human Mission to Chinese Space Station May Include Female Taikonaut