China on Monday discreetly rolled out the Long March 2F rocket, which will be used to send the manned Shenzhou-11 spacecraft into the orbit to dock on the Tiangong-2 space lab, GB Times reported.

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The move indicates that the Shenzhou-11 is all set for launching at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert within a week.

The Shenzhou-11 will send two astronauts into the orbit and take them to the Tiangong-2 station, where they will conduct a month-long research related to biology, psychology, and medicine.

"This is going to provide evidence of astronauts' long-term stay in space for the development of China's space station in the future," Lei Fanpei, chairman of the China Aerospace Science and Technology, told CCTV.

Meanwhile, while the previous two Shenzhou missions (2012 and 2013) sent three crew members, the crew size has been cut this time to accommodate the length of its duration. The two crews are both male, although identities have not been revealed yet.

The Shenzhou-11 will be the sixth human spaceflight launched by China. GB Times reported that observers are forecasting China to launch at around 23:30 on Oct. 16 universal time (Oct. 16 Beijing time).

The Tiangong-2 space lab has been successfully launched and maneuvered to its preset orbit last month.

In a related news, another cargo vessel Tianzhou-1 is expected to launch in April to test on-orbit refueling technologies that are vital to sustain a large manned space station over a couple of years. It also plans to launch the core CSS module in two years' time and complete the three-module station in the early end of the decade.

TagsShenzhou 11, Shenzhou 11 mission, Tiangong-2, Space Lab, astronauts, manned space lab, china, space exploration