Shenzhou-20 Crewed Mission: Long March Rocket Liftoff | China Space Station

Shenzhou-20 Crewed Mission: Long March Rocket Liftoff | China Space Station

China launched the Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft on Thursday, April 24, 2025, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station for a six-month mission. The spacecraft, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off at 17:17 (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, said the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

About 10 minutes after the launch, the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. The crew members, consisting of mission commander Chen Dong and crew members Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, remained in good condition while the launch has been declared a complete success, the CMSA announced.

China's Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft successfully docked with the Tiangong Space Station later on Thursday. The spacecraft made a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station's core module Tianhe at 11:49 p.m. Beijing Time. The whole process took approximately 6.5 hours.

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.

Image Credit: CGTN
Release Date: April 24, 2025

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