JIUQUAN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- China launched the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship on Thursday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station for a six-month mission.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, April 24, 2025.  (Xinhua/Li Xin)

The Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, April 24, 2025.  (Xinhua/Li Xin)

The Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, April 24, 2025.  (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)

The Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, April 24, 2025.  (Photo by Han Qiyang/Xinhua)