Astronauts embark on six-month space trip

Shenzhou XX astronauts, Senior Colonel Chen Dong (center), Colonel Chen Zhongrui (right) and Colonel Wang Jie, attend a departure ceremony on Thursday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China. (ZHANG XIAONING/FOR CHINA DAILY)

China successfully launched its Shenzhou XX manned spaceship on Thursday, sending three astronauts to the Tiangong space station for a six-month mission.

A Long March 2F rocket blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 5:17 pm, carrying the spaceship with mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong and crew members Colonel Chen Zhongrui and Colonel Wang Jie onboard.

Shortly after crossing the Karman line — the boundary separating Earth's atmosphere and outer space at an altitude of 100 kilometers above sea level — the Shenzhou XX spaceship separated from its carrier rocket and activated rapid autonomous rendezvous-and-docking mode.

The astronauts, who are all members of the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Division, are scheduled to arrive at the space station early on Friday, joining their peers from the Shenzhou XIX mission who have been in orbit for nearly six months.

At a news conference on Wednesday at the launch site, mission commander Chen Dong said he was thrilled to embark on his third spaceflight. "On the one hand, I feel immensely proud and honored, because being able to launch into space for my country again is both a great privilege and a source of deep happiness. On the other hand, there's also a deep sense of anticipation, as every journey into space is unique. I look forward to gaining more experience and achieving new breakthroughs," he added.

Wang Jie, a former spacecraft engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing, said that as the mission's spaceflight engineer, his responsibilities include platform maintenance, equipment checks and repairs, handling emergencies, and conducting scientific experiments.

"While each crew member has specific tasks to complete during the mission, we broadly operate as a team. Every procedure or scientific experiment is carried out through collaboration, with each of us serving as backup for the others as and when necessary," Wang said.

The Shenzhou XX crew is conducting China's 15th manned spaceflight and will be the ninth group of residents aboard the Tiangong, which is currently the only operational space station independently run by a single nation.

After their spaceship approaches and docks with the front port of the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong, the trio will enter the space station to meet with their Shenzhou XIX peers — mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe, Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze.

Both teams will work together for about four days to ensure a smooth handover, after which the Shen-zhou XIX crew will return to Earth, with their reentry capsule scheduled for touchdown on Tuesday.

Over the next six months, the Shenzhou XX astronauts will carry out a variety of tasks, including scientific experiments, technological demonstrations, and spacewalks to install space debris shielding equipment and other external instruments. They will also retrieve equipment from the station's exterior and hold science lectures.