Chinese astronauts aboard Shenzhou spacecraft dock, enter country’s space station

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) – The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-21 spacecraft docked with the country's space station and met with another crew of three astronauts early Saturday morning.

The Shenzhou-20 crew opened the hatch at 4.58 am Beijing Time (2058GMT Friday) to welcome the new team, state-run Xinhua News reported, citing the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The astronauts will spend the next five days working and living together to complete their planned tasks and the handover process, according to the agency.

China on Friday launched its sixth crewed flight mission into space with three astronauts, including its youngest-ever astronaut, as well as four mice onboard.

The Shenzhou-21 was launched at around midnight from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The three astronauts, also known locally as taikonauts, are spacecraft pilot/mission commander Zhang Lu, flight engineer Wu Fei, and payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang.

The taikonauts also carried two male and two female mice to the Tiangong space station for the first time to carry out experiments.

While in orbit for six months, the Shenzhou-21 crew will carry out 27 new scientific and applied research projects in key scientific areas, including space life science and biotechnology and aerospace medicine.