China launched its space mission Shenzhou 16

China on Tuesday successfully launched the Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft and sent three astronauts, including a civilian, to its space station for a five-month mission.

According to the ‘China Manned Space Agency’ (CMSA), the spacecraft was launched at 9.31 am (China time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China through the ‘Long March-2F carrier rocket’.

According to CMSA, Shenzhou-16 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit about 10 minutes after launch. The crew members are fine and the launch was a complete success. The astronauts are expected to arrive at the station’s Tianhe core module, about 400 kilometers above the ground, after a journey of less than seven hours.

Gui Haichao, a professor at Beihang University in Beijing, is one of the three astronauts. Other astronauts include mission commander Jing Haipeng, who is set to make history by becoming the first Chinese astronaut to go into space for a record fourth time.

At the same time, astronaut flight engineer Zhu Yangzhu is making his first trip to space. CMSA deputy director Lin Shiqiang told reporters on Monday that Shenzhou-16 would be the first crewed mission after China’s space station program entered the application and development phase.