Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China - Oct 14, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Press conference in progress
2. Reporter asking questions
3. Press conference in progress
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Lin Xiqiang, deputy director, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) (partially overlaid with shot 5):
"The manned spacecraft will adopt the mode of autonomous rendezvous and docking, and dock with the space station in radial docking for the first time. Then the Chinese space station will operate as a combination of four spacecraft: a core module, two cargo spacecraft and one manned spacecraft."
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5. Reporters
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6. Reporters
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Lin Xiqiang, deputy director, CMSA (partially overlaid with shot 8):
"The three astronauts will stay in orbit for six months for the first time, which will be the normal duration period of the astronauts during the operation of the space station. A Chinese female astronaut will visit China's space station for the first time. Astronaut Wang Yaping will be the first female astronaut of China to conduct extravehicular activities. The Shenzhou-13 crew will also include both male and female astronauts who will leave the capsule for the first time to conduct extravehicular activities."
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8. Reporters
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9. Press conference in progress
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Lin Xiqiang, deputy director, CMSA (starting with shot 9):
"The in-orbit construction of China's space station will be carried out in two phases: key technology verification phase and construction phase. The Shenzhou-13 mission is a decisive and final battle for the verification of key technologies of the space station, as well as a critical threshold to the next phase of construction. The function and performance of each system to perform the space station mission, as well as the compatibility and coordination among the systems, will be assessed more comprehensively during the Shenzhou-13 mission."
11. Press conference in progress

China's Shenzhou-13 spacecraft mission is a crucial and final battle for verifying its key space technologies, said an official overseeing the country's manned space program on Thursday.

Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, briefed the media on the Shenzhou-13 mission's features at a news conference held at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China.

"The manned spacecraft will adopt the mode of autonomous rendezvous and docking, and dock with the space station in radial docking for the first time. Then the Chinese space station will operate as a combination of four spacecraft: a core module, two cargo spacecraft and one manned spacecraft," said Lin.

"The three astronauts will stay in orbit for six months for the first time, which will be the normal duration period of the astronauts during the operation of the space station. A Chinese female astronaut will visit China's space station for the first time. Astronaut Wang Yaping will be the first female astronaut of China to conduct extravehicular activities. The Shenzhou-13 crew will also include both male and female astronauts who will leave the capsule for the first time to conduct extra-vehicular activities," said Lin.

Lin said more space science experiments and technology verifications will be conducted compared with the shenzhou-12 mission, with more scientific achievements expected.

In addition, the spacecraft and rockets carrying out the mission will be directly shifted to the launch state from the emergency standby state at the launch site, Lin said.

"The in-orbit construction of China's space station will be carried out in two phases: key technology verification phase and construction phase. The Shenzhou-13 mission is a decisive and final battle for the verification of key technologies of the space station, as well as a critical threshold to the next phase of construction. The function and performance of each system to perform the space station mission, as well as the compatibility and coordination among the systems, will be assessed more comprehensively during the Shenzhou-13 mission," said Lin.