China is set to launch its latest trio of astronauts to its Tiangong space station today, and you can watch the action live.
The Shenzhou 19 mission is poised to launch from Jiuquan spaceport in northwest China to the Tiangong space station at 4:27 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 29 (2027 GMT; or 4:27 a.m. Oct. 30 Beijing time).
The crew were revealed less than a day ahead of launch at a press conference at Jiuquan. The mission will be commanded by astronaut Cai Xuzhe, 48, who was part of the Shenzhou 14 mission which launched to Tiangong in June 2022.
He will be accompanied by Song Lingdong, 34, a former air force pilot, and Wang Haoze, also 34, a former senior engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), China’s main space contractor. Both come from China’s third batch of astronauts, and are embarking on their first trips to space. Wang is China’s first and only female spaceflight engineer.
Related: China rolls out rocket for Shenzhou-19 astronaut launch (video)
Launch of Shenzhou 19 via a Long March 2F rocket is set to be livestreamed. The spacecraft is scheduled to dock at Tiangong 6.5 hours later. Cai, Song and Wang will then begin a six-month-long stay aboard the space station, carrying out a range of tasks.
“The Shenzhou 19 mission will include multiple extravehicular activities,” Cai said at the press conference. “We have conducted extensive training on the ground, making every effort to anticipate all possible scenarios.”
“I am mainly responsible for space experiment projects, material management, and station operation,” said Wang. “Of course, many major projects will be accomplished collectively by the three of us in the crew.”
Meanwhile, the Shenzhou 18 crew currently aboard Tiangong are preparing for their return to Earth following six months in orbit. The trio of Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu will hand over control of the space station to Cai, Song and Wang and return to Earth around 1:00 p.m. EDT on Nov. 3 (1700 GMT; or 1:00 a.m. Beijing time on Nov. 4)
