Shenzhou XX crew members start takeover of Tiangong

Shenzhou XX crew members have begun to carry out takeover work of the Tiangong space station with the outgoing Shenzhou XIX astronauts.

The new arrivals — mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong and crew members Colonel Chen Zhongrui and Colonel Wang Jie — were launched by a Long March 2F carrier rocket on Thursday afternoon from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

After flying approximately six-and-a-half hours, their spaceship docked with the front port on the Tianhe core module — Tiangong station's core component — at 11:49 pm, and they began preparatory work to enter the space station, which included changing into intravehicular work suits from their pressure suits and configuring their spaceship.