Long March 2F • Shenzhou-20

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) used a Long March 2F rocket to launch three taikonauts to the Tiangong Space Station. Mission Commander Chen Dong flew to the station along with Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie. This is Dong’s third trip to space following the Shenzhou-11 and Shenzhou-14 missions. Zhongrui and Jie flew to space for the first time. The mission’s launch date, April 24, coincided with China’s Space Day, which was established in 2016 in recognition of the country’s first satellite launch in 1970.