China launched the manned Shenzhou-19 spacecraft to its orbiting space station on a six-month mission today.
The crew consists of three astronauts – including the country’s first female space engineer.
The spacecraft, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, was launched at 4:27 a.m. Beijing time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.
About ten minutes after launch, the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered its orbit. The crew members are in good health and the launch was a complete success, China Radio International reported.
The Shenzhou-19 crew consists of mission commander Cai Xujia and astronauts Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze.
Cai is an experienced astronaut who previously traveled to orbit on the Shenzhou-14 mission in 2022. With this ongoing mission, he set a new record for the shortest interval between two spaceflights for Chinese astronauts.
Song and Wang, part of the third group of Chinese astronauts, are newcomers to space, both born in the 1990s.
Wang is currently the only female aerospace engineer in China and the third Chinese woman to participate in a manned spaceflight mission, the agency added.
Photo: Shi Yue
