(ORDO NEWS) — China says it will soon begin training foreign astronauts to fly to its newly built orbiting space station.
Chen Shanguang, Deputy Chief Designer of the Office of Manned Space Flight Program, said in an interview with the state broadcaster CCTV that several countries are interested in cooperation on the Tiangong station.
“We will soon start selecting candidates from these countries for joint flights to our space station,” Chen said.
Candidates will go through an initial screening process before being taken to China for intensive training on how to fly China’s Shenzhou spacecraft and live and work aboard the station, Chen said.
“We also hope that foreign applicants will be able to gain some knowledge of Chinese culture because they will be on board the Chinese space station,” he said.
Chen did not say whether proficiency in Chinese would be required, although experts interviewed by China Daily said they expect China’s national language to be the working language on board the station.
China completed the Tiangong in November, adding a third module. The station can accommodate up to six people, although only three are on board for the six-month mission.
The service life of Tiangong is 10-15 years. If the ISS retires at the end of the decade, Tiangong will be the only functioning space station.
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