Tiangong space station open to world

After years of efforts, China's space station will soon be fully operational.

Over the past 19 years, from China's first manned space mission Shenzhou V to the latest Shenzhou XV launch, the nation's space endeavors have progressed from a single-astronaut mission to the long-term stay of several astronauts in space. The number of astronauts one spaceship can carry has increased from one to three, and the length of time the astronauts stay in space has expanded from just 23 hours to six months.

When the Shenzhou XV spacecraft docks with the space station, the three astronauts already crewing the station will hand it over to the three new arrivals before returning to Earth. During the weeklong transition period there will be six people living in the space station.