China on Wednesday launched the Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship, sending a crew of three astronauts into space.
The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off at 04:27 Wednesday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
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China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
The Shenzhou-19 crew, consisting of mission commander Cai Xuzhe and crew members Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, will stay in orbit for about six months.
After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-19 spaceship will perform a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the front port of the space station core module Tianhe in about 6.5 hours, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft, said a spokesman with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Tuesday.
Shenzhou-19 is the 33rd flight mission of China's manned space program, and the fourth manned mission during the application and development stage of China's space station.
China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
China launches Shenzhou-19 manned spaceship
