Send-off ceremony held for Chinese astronauts of Shenzhou-20 mission

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. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

JIUQUAN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- 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. 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. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

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. (Xinhua/Li Xin)