Send-off ceremony held for Chinese astronauts of Shenzhou-20 mission
Updated: April 24, 2025 15:25Xinhua
Chinese astronauts Chen Dong (C), Chen Zhongrui (R) and Wang Jie attend a send-off ceremony at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 24, 2025. A send-off ceremony for the three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-20 crewed space mission was held here on Thursday, according to the China Manned Space Agency. [Photo/Xinhua]
JIUQUAN, April 24 -- A send-off ceremony for the three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-20 crewed space mission was held on Thursday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
At the command of Xu Xueqiang, commander-in-chief of China's manned space program, astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie set off at 2:26 p.m. (Beijing Time).
As of Thursday, the Shenzhou-19 crew has stayed in the orbiting Tiangong space station for almost six months and is preparing for the arrival of the Shenzhou-20 crew.
The Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 5:17 p.m. Thursday.
Chinese astronauts Chen Dong (C), Chen Zhongrui (R) and Wang Jie attend a send-off ceremony at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 24, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
Chinese astronauts Chen Dong (C), Chen Zhongrui (R) and Wang Jie attend a send-off ceremony at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on April 24, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
