Jiuquan: China launched the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship on Thursday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station for a six-month mission. The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off at 17:17 (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, as reported by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
According to Emirates News Agency, approximately 10 minutes after launch, the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. The crew members, including mission commander Chen Dong along with crew members Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, are reported to be in good condition. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) has declared the launch a complete success.
Around 6.5 hours after the launch, the spaceship will perform a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the front port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.
Shenzhou-20 is the 35th flight mission of China's manned space program, and the fifth crewed mission during the application and development stage of China's space station. The crew is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China in late October this year.