China's Shenzhou-20 manned spaceship, with three astronauts on board, has entered its designated orbit after blasting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 17:17 (Beijing Time) Thursday.
About 10 minutes after the launch, the Shenzhou-20 spaceship 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, are in good condition while the launch has been declared a complete success.
"According to the rocket's flight data and calculation by the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center based on monitoring data, the Long March 2F Y20 carrier rocket has accurately sent the Shenzhou-20 manned spaceship to the predetermined orbit. The spaceship's solar panels are unfolded and functioning normally. I hereby announce the Shenzhou-20 launch mission a complete success!" said Zou Lipeng, commander of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-20 spaceship will require about 6.5 hours to perform its automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, thereby forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.
The Shenzhou-20 astronauts will take over command of the space station after completing an in-orbit handover with their colleagues of the Shenzhou-19 mission.
They will stay at Tiangong for approximately six months, during which they will witness the arrivals of the Tianzhou-9 cargo craft and Shenzhou-21 manned spaceship.
China successfully sends Shenzhou-20 manned spaceship into designated orbit
China successfully sends Shenzhou-20 manned spaceship into designated orbit
