China plans to launch the Shenzhou XX mission on Thursday afternoon for a crew shift aboard the nation's Tiangong space station, as stated by a senior program official.

Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, announced at a news conference on Wednesday morning at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China that the Shenzhou XX spacecraft, carrying three crew members — mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong, Colonel Chen Zhongrui and Colonel Wang Jie — is set to launch at 5:17 pm on Thursday using a Long March 2F carrier rocket.

Thursday also marks China's 10th Space Day, observed annually on April 24.

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Lin mentioned that the Long March 2F rocket will soon be loaded with propellants at its service tower.

"After the Shenzhou XX spacecraft reaches its designated orbital position, it will engage the rapid autonomous rendezvous-docking mode and take approximately six and a half hours to approach and dock with the front port on the Tianhe core module," Lin said.

The Shenzhou XX team will conduct China's 15th manned spaceflight and become the ninth group of residents aboard the Tiangong, which is currently the only operational space station independently operated by a single nation.

The Tiangong, completed in late 2022, orbits Earth at an altitude of about 400 kilometers. It consists of three permanent components — the Tianhe core module and two large science lab modules named Wentian and Mengtian — and is currently linked with two visiting spacecraft, the Shenzhou XIX crew ship and the Tianzhou 8 cargo ship. It stands as one of the largest and most intricate structures ever established in space by humanity.

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Chen Dong and his team will take over the expansive orbital outpost from their counterparts in the Shenzhou XIX mission — mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe and crew members Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze — who arrived on Oct 30. By now, Cai's team has spent 175 days in orbit.

The two groups will coexist for approximately four days for transition work, after which the Shenzhou XIX astronauts will depart and return to Earth on Tuesday, according to Lin.

During their six-month orbital stay, the Shenzhou XX crew will perform various tasks such as conducting scientific experiments and technological demonstrations, conducting spacewalks to install space debris shielding equipment, experimental instruments, and other external devices, retrieving devices from outside the space station, and engaging in science lectures and other public-benefit activities.

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This will mark the third space mission for Chen Dong, who participated in the Shenzhou XI mission in 2016 and Shenzhou XIV in 2022, where he served as the mission commander with Cai as a crew member. For Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, this upcoming flight will be their first extraterrestrial expedition.

Chen Dong

Senior Colonel Chen Dong, 46, a native of Henan province, joined the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force in August 1997. He served as a squadron commander at a fighter jet regiment until May 2010 when he was selected by the PLA Astronaut Division as one of its second-generation astronauts.

In October 2016, Chen participated in the 33-day Shenzhou XI mission, and in June 2022, he served as the crew commander during the six-month Shenzhou XIV mission. Chen is a recipient of the honorary title "Heroic Astronaut" and two Space Service Medals.

Currently, he is the commander of the PLA Astronaut Division and a first-grade astronaut. He is Shenzhou XX's mission commander.

Chen Zhongrui

Colonel Chen Zhongrui, 40, also a native of Henan province, enlisted in the PLA Air Force in September 2003. He was selected as one of the nation's third-generation astronauts in September 2020 after several years at a flight training brigade.

He currently serves as the deputy commander of the PLA Astronaut Division and a fourth-grade astronaut.

Wang Jie

Colonel Wang Jie, 35, a native of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was chosen into the third-generation group of astronauts in September 2020 and joined the PLA Astronaut Division in January 2021.

Prior to his military recruitment, he worked as an engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

Wang holds a doctoral degree from Beihang University in Beijing and currently serves as a fourth-grade astronaut.

Contact the writer at zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn