China is launching its latest space mission on Thursday morning, April 24. The Shenzhou 20 spacecraft, carried by a Long March 2F rocket, will take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 5:17 a.m. EDT (0917 GMT; 5:17 p.m. Beijing time). You can watch the launch live on Space.com.
Shenzhou 20 will carry three astronauts: commander Chen Dong, who is flying to space for the third time, and two new astronauts, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie. Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie were selected as astronauts in 2020.
After launch, the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft will take about 6.5 hours to reach the Tiangong space station and dock there. Once they arrive, they will meet the current Shenzhou 19 crew, led by commander Cai Xuzhe. The Shenzhou 19 astronauts will hand over control of the space station to the Shenzhou 20 team. Chen Dong and his crew will stay aboard the space station for six months.
The Shenzhou 19 crew will return to Earth on April 29.
Chen Dong has a lot of experience in space. He previously flew on the Shenzhou 11 mission to the Tiangong 2 space lab in 2016 and led the Shenzhou 14 mission to Tiangong in 2022. He’s excited about his new mission, saying it’s a great honor to represent his country. He also looks forward to learning more and making new discoveries.
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Chen Zhongrui, a former pilot in China’s Air Force, and Wang Jie, an aerospace engineer, have both trained hard to be astronauts. Chen went through intense training in over 200 subjects, including challenging exercises like centrifuge training. Wang will mainly help manage materials for the space station and ensure the success of the mission’s scientific experiments.
During the Shenzhou 20 mission, China will also send a cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou 9, to deliver supplies to the space station. These supplies will help keep the station running smoothly, including propellant to maintain its orbit and new experiments.
The Shenzhou 20 mission is the ninth crewed mission to Tiangong. It will be the sixth visit since the station was fully assembled in 2022. China plans to keep Tiangong permanently inhabited for at least a decade and hopes to expand it with new modules. They also want to open the space station to commercial use.
In addition, China is working with Pakistan to prepare for the first foreign astronaut to visit Tiangong.
