Source: Xinhua| 2020-03-24 17:15:39|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A trial version of China's new-generation manned spaceship is being tested at the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of south China's island province of Hainan, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The experimental spacecraft is scheduled to launch with no crew in mid to late April on the maiden flight of the Long March-5B carrier rocket, a variant of the Long March-5, China's largest carrier rocket.

The development team is pulling out all the stops for the mission amid the coronavirus pandemic, said the CMSA.

The spacecraft is being developed for the operation of China's space station and future manned space exploration. It will be larger than China's current Shenzhou manned spaceship and reusable.

"The mission will test the key technologies of the new manned spaceship such as the control of its re-entry into the atmosphere, heat shielding and recovery technology," said Yang Qing, a designer of the spacecraft with the China Academy of Space Technology.

The mission will lay the foundation for the development of transport for future astronauts to China's space station, Yang said.