The launch of the Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft to China’s national orbital station Tiangong will take place on Thursday, Lin Xiqiang, deputy head of China’s Manned Spaceflight Programme Office, said at a briefing.
The launch will take place at 17:17 Beijing time. Taikonauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie will be aboard the craft.
Shenzhou-20 will enter orbit using a CZ-2F/G launch vehicle. About 6.5 hours after liftoff, the craft is scheduled to dock with the orbital station’s main module.
The taikonauts will stay in space until the end of October 2025.
In October 2024, China launched the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft carrying three taikonauts to the orbital station. The mission consisted of Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze.
The current Shenzhou-19 crew is completing its mission and will return to earth on April 29 at the Dongfeng pad.
The Chinese orbital station is placed at an altitude of about 400 kilometres and is designed to carry three people at all times and up to six when crews rotate. The complex has a mass of 66 tonnes and a compartment volume of 110 cubic metres. Since 2022, the station has been operating in normal mode and participating in international projects.
