China launches Shenzhou-19 spaceship with new crew to join its space station

China successfully launches Shenzhou-19 spaceship with first female space engineer on mission to space station for six months.

China on Wednesday (October 30, 2024) successfully launched its spaceship sending three astronauts, including the country's first female space engineer on a six months’ mission to fine tune its low orbiting space station.

The Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship was launched by a Long March-2F carrier rocket, early Wednesday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. About 10 minutes after the launch, the Shenzhou-19 spaceship separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit.

The crew members are in good shape and the launch is a complete success, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced.

The spaceship will perform a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the front port of the space station core module Tianhe in about 6.5 hours, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

China built its space station after it was reportedly excluded from the International Space Station (ISS) over concerns that China’s space programme is manned by its military, the People’s Liberation Army, (PLA).

It is currently the only country to have a space station.

The ISS is a collaborative project of several countries. Observers say China’s space station may become the only one of its kind in orbit once the ISS retires in the coming years.