Oct. 31 (UPI) -- China will send three of its astronauts to the Tiangong space station on Friday in the 16th crewed spaceflight for China's Shenzhou program.
The Shenzhou 21 mission will launch from the Gobi Desert on a Long March 2F rocket around 11:44 a.m. EDT via Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
A live-streamed broadcast will take place as Chinese space officials send astronauts Zhang Lu, Zhang Hongzhang and Wu Fei.
The three-module Tiangong space station, completed in October 2022 will see its 10th crewed flight.
Lu, 48, will command China's Shenzhou 15 mission for its roughly six-month jaunt in space. Wu, 32, and Zhang, 39, will be making their first spaceflights Friday.
