China has sent its seventh crew to the Tiangong space station.
A Long March 2F rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 8:59 a.m. EDT (1259 GMT or 8:59 p.m. Beijing time) today (April 25). The rocket carried the Shenzhou 18 spacecraft and its three-man crew into orbit.
The Shenzhou spacecraft separated from its launch vehicle 10 minutes into the flight, prompting the Chinese space agency to declare the launch successful.
Related: China’s Tiangong Space Station: A Complete Guide
Shenzhou 18 is commanded by Ye Guangfu, 43, who was part of the Shenzhou 13 Mission in 2021-2022. Fighter pilots Li Cong, 34, and Li Guangsu, 36, both newbies to space travel, make up the rest of the crew. The three will spend around six months in space.
“The first spaceflight for me was full of excitement as I fulfilled my dream, coupled with curiosity and anticipation, while this spaceflight is more like a mission – responsibility, test and duty,” Ye said before the launch.
The spaceship is supposed to achieve that Tiangong space station 6.5 hours after launch. The trio are welcomed aboard the orbital outpost by Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin, who form the crew of Shenzhou 17. The final three will soon complete their six months in orbit, hand over control of Tiangong and return there Earth.
The incoming Shenzhou 18 crew will participate in a range of activities including extravehicular operations activities (EVAs) or SpacewalksLive science lectures for school children watching in China and a series of cargo and science experiments.
“The Shenzhou 18 astronauts will conduct six outbound cargo deliveries through the station’s cargo lock module and conduct two to three extraboard activities,” said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, during a press conference April 24 introducing Shenzhou 18 crew members.
The robot delivered supplies for the mission Tianzhou 7 Cargo spaceship in January. The crew will welcome Tianzhou 8 to Tiangong around August, with the new spacecraft bringing fresh supplies, equipment and experiments.
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Meanwhile, in Jiuquan, a new Long March 2F – scheduled to launch the Shenzhou 19 mission later this year – is being kept near operational readiness so that it can be prepared to take off at short notice as a rescue boat in the event of an emergency.
China began construction of its Tiangong space station in 2021 and completed the three-module T-shaped facility in late 2022. Since then, it has hosted crews of three astronauts for a period of six months each.
China intends to keep Tiangong, which is about 20% the size of that International Space Station, permanently inhabited for at least a decade. Consideration is being given to expanding the space station new modules and even open the outpost commercial activities.