On the important occasion of the 20th anniversary of China's first manned spaceflight the Shenzhou-5, the spacecraft soared into the sky from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China on Thursday morning at 11:14 am.
Sitting atop the Long March-2F Y17 carrier rocket, the spacecraft, carrying taikonauts Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin, set off on the journey toward the China Space Station. Following a smooth flight of around 10 minutes, the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft entered its planned orbit, marking a successful launch, according to the official release by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Shenzhou-17 is a manned spacecraft with long-term space residency（驻留）capability. The spacecraft adopts the latest aerospace technology and has high autonomy and precise navigation capabilities, providing strong support for the development of China's aerospace industry.
The main aim of the mission is to rotate（轮换）the crew in orbit with the Shenzhou-16 , and then continue with a stay in space for about six months until April 2024. Also the astronauts will conduct a variety of scientific experiments and technological verification (技术验证) in space, including life sciences, physics, materials science, and other fields. These experiments will provide important scientific data and technological experience for human exploration of space. A significant highlight of the Shenzhou-17 mission, as revealed by the spokesperson, is the pioneering experimental extravehicular (舱外的）repair operations to be undertaken on the space station. The increasing presence of space debris (碎片）has led to long-term operational spacecraft enduring unavoidable impacts from tiny space particles.
