Astronauts Liu Yang, Jing
Haipeng and Liu Wang are carrying out the space mission
China is to make its first ever
attempt at manually docking a spacecraft with another space module.
Astronauts on the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft will try to dock with the Tiangong-1 lab module without relying on an automated system.
Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and China's first female astronaut, Liu Yang, will attempt the manoeuvre, which must be carried out very delicately.
Authorities in China said the docking would take place at around 04:00 GMT.
Liu Wang will be in charge of the manual docking manoeuvres, while Liu Yang will conduct aerospace experiments, according to AFP news agency.
The attempt will help in the construction of a space station, which China aims to complete by 2020, said AFP.
A manual docking procedure would be used in the event of a failure with the automated system.
Manual docking was carried out by the USSR and US successfully in the 1960s.
The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft was launched on 16 June.
It docked with the Tiangong-1 module on 18 June after a successful automatic procedure.
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