Commander on Long March-2F carrier rocket's development in 20 years

China has made important progress in developing its Long March-2F carrier rocket for the country's manned space program over the past two decades, with the vehicle able to carry out routine launch operations in much short intervals, according the commander in chief of the carrier rocket project.

Jing Muchun, the commander, recalled that back when the Long March-2F, part of China's Long March 2 rocket family, undertook the Shenzhou-6 manned spaceflight mission in 2005, the launch procedures would cost more than two months. After 20 years of development, the carrier rocket is able to operate at a regular interval of just one month -- half of the time it used to took -- for manned spaceflights.

"The standard procedure [for rocket launch] has been shortened to just one month, or about 30 days, now. Additionally, under our current workflow, we have one standby rocket, which means we have two carrier rockets at the launch site. We now have a routine 'Earth-space transportation system' in place, which functions like a shuttle service operating one time in the first half of the year and the other in the second half. It's fair to say that we're getting better both in term s of procedure and technology," said Jing.

During the past two decades, China's manned space program has advanced from short-duration spaceflights to much longer missions to support the operations of its space station, Jing said, noting that years of extensive upgrades for the Long March-2F carrier rocket has been instrumental in making this happen.

"We always uphold the principle of prioritizing human safety in the crewed space mission. These principles have remained unchanged since we put them forward, that it, we will never waver in our commitment to advancing, in keeping the standards of, and in fulfilling the requirements for, the crewed space mission," he said.

The Long March-2F carrier rocket is scheduled to send yet another Chinese crew -- the Shenzhou-21 astronaut trio -- to space at 23:44 Friday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Commander on Long March-2F carrier rocket's development in 20 years

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Saturday strongly condemned an Israeli attack on a Lebanese Army patrol that killed two officers and one soldier.

Condemning the attack on the Khardali-Nabatieh road earlier in the day as a flagrant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and international laws and norms, Aoun said in a statement that the strike was part of Israel's ongoing escalation, which threatens stability and security in southern Lebanon, despite Beirut's efforts in Washington negotiations to end the ongoing Israeli attacks.

Aoun said the fallen servicemen had joined a long list of military and civilian victims, including children, women, paramedics, rescue workers, and journalists killed in Israeli attacks.

He extended his condolences to the Lebanese Army command and the families of the victims, praising the sacrifices of the officers, soldiers, and other military personnel who had given their lives in defense of the country and its sovereignty.

He stressed that Lebanon would not waver in protecting its land and people. Such attacks, he added, would not deter the country from upholding its full national rights.

Aoun also called on the international community to assume its responsibilities, put an end to the repeated attacks, and ensure respect for relevant international resolutions to preserve Lebanon's security and stability.

On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement confirming the attack and said it had launched an investigation into the incident.

According to the statement, the IDF spotted a vehicle "moving suspiciously" across an "active combat zone" in the Tebnit area of southern Lebanon on Saturday.

The IDF said it had previously received intelligence indicating that Hezbollah militants would open fire on Israeli troops from that area. Citing this intelligence and asserting that the vehicle posed a "threat to Israeli soldiers", the military carried out the strike.

Lebanese president slams Israeli attack killing 3 servicemen