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China successfully launched its Shenzhou XX manned spaceship on Thursday, sending three astronauts to the Tiangong space station for a six-month mission.

中国于本周四成功发射神舟二十号载人飞船，将三名航天员送往天宫空间站执行为期六个月的任务。

A Long March 2F rocket blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China at 5:17 pm, carrying the spaceship with mission commander Senior Colonel Chen Dong and crew members Colonel Chen Zhongrui and Colonel Wang Jie onboard.

北京时间下午5时17分，长征二号F遥十七运载火箭从西北部酒泉卫星发射中心点火升空，搭载着由指令长陈冬大校、航天员陈忠瑞上校和王杰上校组成的神舟二十号乘组奔赴太空。

Shortly after crossing the Karman line—the boundary separating Earth's atmosphere and outer space at an altitude of 100 kilometers above sea level—the Shenzhou XX spaceship separated from its carrier rocket and activated rapid autonomous rendezvous-and-docking mode.

神州二十号飞船在穿越距地表100公里的地球大气层与外太空分界线——卡门线后，与运载火箭成功分离，随即启动快速自主交会对接程序。

The astronauts, who are all members of the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Division, are scheduled to arrive at the space station early on Friday, joining their peers from the Shenzhou XIX mission who have been in orbit for nearly six months.

作为中国人民解放军航天员大队现役航天员的三位成员，预计将于周五清晨与已在轨运行近六个月的神舟十九号乘组完成太空会师。

At a news conference on Wednesday at the launch site, mission commander Chen Dong said he was thrilled to embark on his third spaceflight. "On the one hand, I feel immensely proud and honored, because being able to launch into space for my country again is both a great privilege and a source of deep happiness. On the other hand, there's also a deep sense of anticipation, as every journey into space is unique. I look forward to gaining more experience and achieving new breakthroughs," he added.

在发射场周三举行的新闻发布会上，指令长陈冬表示对第三次执行太空飞行任务感到心潮澎湃："一方面，我感到无比光荣与自豪，因为能够再次为祖国出征太空，这既是无上荣誉，更是幸福的源泉；另一方面，我也有着深深的期待，因为每次太空之旅都是独一无二的，我渴望积累更多的航天经验，助力中国航天事业实现新跨越。"

Wang Jie, a former spacecraft engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing, said that as the mission's spaceflight engineer, his responsibilities include platform maintenance, equipment checks and repairs, handling emergencies, and conducting scientific experiments.

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