Posted: Sat, Jun 3, 2023, 11:14 AM ET (1514 GMT)
China launched a new crew to its Tiangong space station Monday. A Long March 2F rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 9:31 pm EDT Monday (0131 GMT Tuesday), placing the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft into orbit. The spacecraft docked with Tiangong seven hours later. The spacecraft is commanded by Jing Haipeng, making his fourth spaceflight, with Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao on board. Zhu and Gui are the first members of the third class of Chinese astronauts, selected in 2020, to go to space; Gui is the first Chinese civilian to fly. The three will relieve the Shenzhou-15 crew who have been on Tiangong since November. That crew is slated to return to Earth on June 3.
