China’s Shenzhou XVII Arrives at Tiangong Space Station with New Crew

China launched a crew of three taikonauts today aboard Shenzhou XVII on a Long March 2F rocket, which arrived safely at China’s space station six hours later. The commander, Tang Hongbo, had made his first space flight in 2021 with veteran pilot Jing Haipeng, who no doubt showed him the ropes, and Tang is now, after only two years, commanding his own flight. More importantly, the other taikonauts are in their 30s and represent the youngest crew going to the Tiangong station. While the various crews are comprised of space pilots, flight engineers, and payload specialists, these two newcomers, Jiang Xinlin and Tang Shengjie, are both space pilots. Tang Hongbo is both commanding the flight, and he is also training these pilots for their own flights. Some of these flights may be the first trip to the planned lunar research station. This is the 30th flight of China’s manned space program and the 12th manned mission of the program.