On Thursday, China sent three astronauts to its permanently inhabited space station in its 15th crewed spaceflight and the 20th overall under the Shenzhou program, which began over three decades ago.
The spacecraft Shenzhou-20 and its crew lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 5:17 PM (0917 GMT), according to the state broadcaster CCTV.
The state news agency Xinhua reported shortly after that the launch was a success.
This launch occurs as China’s advancements in lunar and space exploration are attracting more nations. Pakistan is currently undertaking a preliminary selection process for astronauts, one of whom will eventually travel to space on a future Shenzhou spaceflight and become the first foreign astronaut to enter China’s Tiangong space station.
