China's Shenzhou-17 takes off for Tiangong space station with youngest-ever crew

China on Thursday (Oct 26) launched its youngest-ever crew of astronauts to the Tiangong space station, marking a significant advancement in the country's space ambitions for the future.

The three-passenger Shenzhou-17 or Divine Vessel lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 11:14 pm EDT (8:44 am IST).

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The China National Space Administration said the spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle 10 minutes into the flight as planned, and declared the launch "a complete success."

The six-month mission is led by former Air Force pilot Tang Hongbo, 48, who was on the crewed mission to the space station in 2021. He was from the second batch of astronauts in 2010 and had to wait for over a decade before he was picked. Hongbong's return to Tiangong set a new record for the shortest interval between two spaceflight missions by the astronauts.

His fellowcrew members Tang Shengjie, 33, and Jiang Xinline, 35, are both travelling to space for the first time. The two joined the space mission in September 2020.

In a pre-launch press conference, Tang said, "The space station is another home for us on the journey from Earth to the vast universe. In order to return to space, in the past two years, I have raced against time to complete physical and mental recovery while carrying out studies and training."

Selection process for foreign astronauts

China has now already started the selection process for the fourth batch of astronauts, seeking candidates with doctoral degrees in disciplines from biology, physics, chemistry, biomedical engineering and astronomy. The country is also welcoming applications from Hong Kong and Macau for the first time.

The selection and training process for the upcoming missions will commence soon for foreign astronauts to participate in joint flights to Tiangong, a senior official said.

China's Tiangong has become a symbol of the country's growing confidence in its space endeavours after being shut out of the ISS programme for years. But now, the NASA-led International Space Station (ISS), where English is the working language, is making an exception for Chinese to be used in Tianong, making it a skill for foreign participants.

The Shenzhou-17 is China's 12th crewed mission and the crewwill replace the Shenzhou-16 crew, who arrived at Tiangong at the end of May.

(With inputs from agencies)