China, on October 26th, (send) the Shenzhou XVII manned spaceship, and the three astronauts aboard will stay in orbit for about six months on a space station mission.
The crew members—Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin—have been scheduled to ride on board the Shenzhou XVII spaceship. Tang Hongbo is one of the nation's second-generation astronauts. Through this mission, he will become a record holder among Chinese astronauts, regarding the (short) interval (间隔) between two spaceflights—just two years and one month after returning from his first space journey in the three-month Shenzhou XII.
(bring) up in a farming family in northwest China's Gansu Province, Tang Shengjie entered China's Aviation University of Air Force after graduating from high school became a fighter pilot. After nearly 13 years of (serve), he has flown six types of aircraft.
Like many of his predecessors, Jiang Xinlin is a pilot-turned-taikonaut, was also a ground-force tank driver before reaching beyond the sky. "I am very much looking forward to travelling into space, enjoying the fun in zero gravity and (explore) the wonders of the vast universe," the 35-year-old said in a pre-flight interview.
The Shenzhou XVII crew is supposed (stay) inside the Tiangong for around six months and return to Earth around April. Their (task) include carrying out scientific experiments and technological demonstrations, conducting spacewalks to install equipment and maintain the massive orbital outpost, checking the (station) operational performance, obtaining data, as well as helping to review ground facilities' support capabilities.
