China's youngest crew so far is on its way to the Tiangong space station.
A Long March 2F rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert today (Oct. 26) at 11:14 a.m. Time, carrying the Shenzhou 17 spacecraft and its three-person crew into orbit.
The spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle as planned 10 minutes into the flight, the China National Space Administration announced, declaring the launch "a complete success."
Aboard are mission commander Tang Hongbo, 48, a veteran of Shenzhou 12 — the first crewed mission to the then under-construction Tiangong — and crewmates and former fighter pilots Tang Shengjie, 34, and Jiang Xinlin, 35.
Together, the trio are the youngest crew to visit Tiangong. They are expected to rendezvous and dock with Tiangong around 6.5 hours after launch and begin a six-month-long stay in orbit.
