The Chinese Shenzhou-19 mission took off from the Gobi Desert, transporting taikonauts to the Tiangong space station. The ship included crew members born in the 1990s – the youngest Chinese citizens in extraterrestrial space so far.
China's Shenzhou-19 (God Ship) spacecraft with a three-person crew on board took off from the Jiuquan Spaceport on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China. The capsule was launched using a Long March 2F rocket on Wednesday at 4:27 a.m. local time (it was 9:27 p.m. in Poland at that time).
CCTV confirmed that the spacecraft successfully completed docking with the space station at 11 (Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Poland).
Half a year in orbit
According to the Chinese space agency, members of the mission will remain at China's Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) space station for the next six months. They will conduct 86 experiments in the field of space natural sciences, microgravity physics, materials technology, medicine and new technologies.
Shenzhou-19 mission beginsPAP/EPA/JESSICA LEE
The commander of Shenzhou-19 is 48-year-old Cai Xuzhe, who participated in the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022. His companions, air force pilot Song Lingdong and scientist Wang Haoze, are novices, both born in the 1990s – the youngest taikonauts in extraterrestrial space to date. Wang is the third Chinese woman to take part in a manned flight and the first female spaceflight engineer.
Together with the crew, the instruments necessary to remotely control the ship and support spacewalks will arrive at the Chinese space station. The Chinese are also to install new equipment to protect the Tiangong orbital station from space debris.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/JESSICA LEE