据中国载人航天工程办公室消息，为满足载人航天工程后续飞行任务需要，我国第四批预备航天员选拔工作已于近期启动。
本次共选拔12至14名预备航天员，包括航天驾驶员7至8名，航天飞行工程师和载荷专家共5至6名，其中，载荷专家2名左右。航天驾驶员在陆海空三军现役飞行员中选拔，航天飞行工程师在从事航空航天工程及相关领域专业的科研和工程技术人员中选拔，载荷专家在从事空间科学研究及应用相关领域的科研人员中选拔。
此次预备航天员选拔，由中国载人航天工程办公室统一组织实施，预计1年半左右时间完成，并首次在港澳地区选拔载荷专家。China started the selection process of the fourth batch of astronauts to join later manned space missions, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).Between 12 and 14 candidates will be chosen, including seven or eight pilots. Engineers will also be selected as well as two payload experts.The pilots will be selected among active pilots of China's armed forces. The engineers will be picked from researchers and technicians in aerospace or related industries. And the payload experts will be drafted among those also researching space science.The posts of payload experts are also open to applicants from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions for the first time.The CMSA will carry out the selection procedure which is expected to last about 18 months.Currently the Astronaut Center of China is training the third batch of 18 astronauts before they are certified for space missions.China has 21 astronauts in total from the first and the second generations. 14 of them have taken part in nine missions, including the latest Shenzhou-14 mission.推荐阅读：