New Chinese Space Station Crew Lifts Off

A crew of three Chinese taikonauts lifted off this morning to the Tiangong-3 space station. Shenzhou-20 will replace the Shenzhou-19 crew who have been aboard for the past six months.  China began these routine crew rotations in 2022 following the example of the International Space Station that has hosted professional and commercial astronauts from many countries for more than 24 years.  Only Chinese taikonauts have been aboard Tiangong-3 so far, but China is getting ready to change that.

Shenzhou-20 lifted off at 5:17 am Eastern Daylight Time (5:17 pm local time at the launch site) and docked with the space station about 6.5 hours later at 11:49 am EDT (11:49 pm in China).  Commander Chen Dong is on his third flight, having flown on Shenzhou -11 and  Shenzhou-14.  The other two, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, are rookies.

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 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. pic.twitter.com/ojPGEpkaw9

— China Xinhua Sci-Tech (@XHscitech) April 24, 2025

The launch coincided with China’s celebration of China Space Day, commemorating the launch of their first satellite, Dongfanghong-1, on April 24, 1970.

Their human spaceflight program got off to a slow start.  After four uncrewed test flights between 1999 and 2002, Shenzhou-5 launched in 2003 with China’s first taikonaut, Yang Liwei.  Only five more crews were launched through 2019, three of which visited China’s first two small (8.5 Metric Ton) space stations, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2.

The launch of Tiangong-3’s first module, Tianhe, in 2021 opened a new era.  After two short-duration missions, Shenzhou-12 and Shenzhou-13, the addition of two more modules, Wentian and Mengtian, and the beginning of cargo resupply missions with Tianzhou spacecraft, permanent occupancy began with Shenzhou-14 in 2022.

Crews now rotate on roughly six-month schedules. Shenzhou-20 is replacing Shenzhou-19, who arrived on October 29, 2024 and will depart on April 29 after a 5-day handover period.

What a day for space! It’s China’s 10th Space Day and the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched today. From space, the Shenzhou-19 crew recorded a special video, wishing prosperity for the nation and new heights for China’s space journey. pic.twitter.com/V1XQYFepW4

— China Xinhua Sci-Tech (@XHscitech) April 24, 2025

The U.S.-Russian-Japanese-European-Canadian International Space Station has been permanently occupied by international crews since November 2, 2000. The typical crew complement these days is seven. A crew rotation just took place there and Expedition 73 is now aboard composed of three Russians, three Americans, and one Japanese.

China has expressed interest in welcoming international crew members aboard Tiangong-3, too.  The state-owned news agency Xinhua reported yesterday that two Pakistani astronauts will be selected for training, with one of them getting the opportunity to serve as a payload specialist on Tiangong-3.  A date for the flight was not specified.

Xinhua separately gave an update on China’s plans to send taikonauts to the Moon by 2030. China Manned Spaceflight Agency spokesman Lin Xiqiang said the Long March 10 rocket, crew spacecraft Mengzhou (Dream Vessel), lunar lander Lanyue (Embracing the Moon), spacesuit Wangyu (Gazing into the Cosmos), and crewed lunar rover Tansuo (To Explore the Unknown) “are all undergoing prototype research and development as planned.”

 

This article has been updated.