China announced on Wednesday that a veteran astronaut will lead two crew members on their first flight to the Tiangong space station, the latest milestone in its race to send a manned mission to the moon by 2030.
The Shenzhou-20 mission is scheduled to blast off at 5:17 p.m. on Thursday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), told a news conference.
At the helm will be Chen Dong, a 46-year-old former fighter pilot and experienced space explorer who, in 2022, became the first Chinese astronaut to spend more than 200 cumulative days in orbit.
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