The three astronauts of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceflight mission have boarded the spaceship which is slated to be launched from northwest China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to the Tiangong space station at 17:17 Thursday (Beijing Time).
Chen Dong, the mission commander, and his crew mates Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie got aboard the spaceship with the help of technicians.
The Shenzhou-20 astronauts will complete in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-19 crew and stay at the space station for approximately six months.
During the mission, the new crew will witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-9 cargo craft and Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship.
They will undertake a range of tasks, including space science experiments, application tests, extravehicular activities, and cargo handling. Their mission also involves installing protective devices against space debris, and deploying and retrieving extravehicular payloads and equipment.
They will also participate in science education, public outreach, and other onboard experimental activities.
The Shenzhou-19 astronauts are scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 29.
Shenzhou-20 astronauts board spaceship ahead of launch
Shenzhou-20 astronauts board spaceship ahead of launch
Shenzhou-20 astronauts board spaceship ahead of launch
Chinese tech giant ByteDance, parent company of the popular short-video app TikTok, has signed binding agreements to divest the app's most assets in the United States and form a joint venture with a group of mostly American investors, in a crucial step toward avoiding a U.S. government ban, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a memo sent to the company staff on Thursday.
Under the agreements, ByteDance will retain 19.9 percent of the business, while U.S. cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will each hold 15 percent. The remaining 30.1 percent will be held by affiliates of ByteDance's existing investors.
The move follows U.S. President Donald Trump's order in September this year to delay the enforcement of a law that would ban TikTok unless it was sold.
Although the transaction will not be complete until Jan 22, 2026, the move enables TikTok, used by more than 170 million Americans, to continue operating in the United States.
In April 2024, during former President Joe Biden's administration, the U.S. Congress passed a law to ban TikTok over what it called national security concerns, unless the app was sold.
The law was set to go into effect on Jan 20 this year, but was pushed back multiple times by Trump, while his administration worked toward a deal to transfer ownership.
TikTok parent ByteDance signs deal to sell US operations in joint venture move
