英语新闻丨最年轻乘组！神舟十七号明日出征

China's 12th manned spaceflight, the Shenzhou XVII mission, will launch on Thursday morning to transport a three-member crew to the Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

据中国载人航天工程办公室消息，中国第12次载人航天任务，即神舟十七号任务，将于10月26日上午发射，运送一支三人组成的航天员乘组前往天宫空间站。

Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, said at a news conference on Wednesday morning at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China that the crew members — mission commander Senior Colonel Tang Hongbo, Lieutenant Colonel Tang Shengjie and Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Xinlin — have been scheduled to ride onboard the Shenzhou XVII spaceship to be lifted by a Long March 2F carrier rocket at 11:14 am on Thursday from the oasis-like Jiuquan center in the barren Gobi Desert.

10月25日上午，在酒泉卫星发射中心举行的新闻发布会上，中国载人航天工程办公室副主任林西强表示，飞行乘组由航天员汤洪波、唐胜杰和江新林组成，汤洪波担任指令长。据介绍，神舟十七号载人飞行任务瞄准北京时间10月26日11时14分发射神舟十七号载人飞船，由长征二号F遥十七火箭发射，发射地点确定为酒泉卫星发射中心。酒泉卫星发射中心位于戈壁滩上，犹如一片绿洲。

Technicians at the launch center will soon start to inject propellants into the rocket, he said.

他表示，执行此次发射任务的长征二号F遥十七火箭即将开始推进剂加注。

"After the Shenzhou XVII spacecraft enters its preset orbital position, it will activate the rapid rendezvous-docking mode and use about six and a half hours to approach and connect with the front port on the Tianhe core module," said the official.

根据官方信息：“神舟十七号载人飞船入轨后，将采用自主快速交会对接模式，约6.5小时后对接于天和核心舱前向端口。”

The Shenzhou XVII team will take over the Tiangong station from their peers in the Shenzhou XVI - mission commander Major General Jing Haipeng, Colonel Zhu Yangzhu and Professor Gui Haichao - who arrived on May 30. By now, Jing's crew has stayed in orbit for nearly five months.

神舟十七号机组将接替神舟十六号乘组的任务，神舟十六号机组成员包括任务指挥长景海鹏，航天员朱杨柱、和教授桂海潮。到目前为止，神舟十六号乘组组已在轨道中停留了将近五个月。

The two groups will live together for about four days to perform handover work and then the Shenzhou XVI astronauts will depart and fly back to Earth on Oct 31, according to Lin.

林西强介绍，两组机组成员将一起生活四天左右，进行交接工作，在此之后，10月31日，神舟十六号的宇航员将返回地球。

He said the Shenzhou XVII crew is scheduled to stay inside the Tiangong for around six months and return to Earth around April. Their tasks include carrying out scientific experiments and technological demonstrations, conducting spacewalks to install equipment and maintain the massive orbital outpost, checking the space station's operational performance and obtaining relevant data, as well as helping to review ground facilities' support capabilities.

他说，神舟十七号乘组计划在天宫内停留约六个月，并将于明年4月左右返回地球。他们的任务包括进行科学实验和技术演示、进行空间站舱外试验性维修作业，同时，持续评估空间站组合体功能性能，获取积累空间站运行的宝贵数据和经验，考核地面支持中心执行空间站运行管理任务的协调性、匹配性。

Tang Hongbo is one of the nation's second-generation astronauts. Through this mission, he will become a record holder in Chinese astronauts in terms of the shortest interval between two spaceflights — just two years and one month after he returned from his first space journey in the three-month Shenzhou XII.

汤洪波是中国的第二代宇航员之一。这次任务将让他成为中国宇航员中两次太空飞行之间间隔最短的记录保持者——在完成他的首个航天任务：为期三个月的神舟十二号任务后，仅仅过了两年零一个月，他将重返空间站。

Tang Shengjie and Jiang are members of the third group of astronauts and the Shenzhou XVII will be their first time to reach Earth's orbit.

唐胜杰和江新林是第三批宇航员的成员，神舟十七号任务是他们首次飞行。

The Shenzhou XVII mission

n. 神舟十七号任务

The China Manned Space Agency

n. 中国载人航天工程办公室

Long March 2F carrier rocket

n. 长征二号F遥十七火箭

Inject propellants 

n. 推进器加注