China's Shenzhou-17 spaceship, with three astronauts on board, has successfully docked with the country's space station combination on Thursday.
The spaceship docked with the front port of the space station's Tianhe core module at 5:46 p.m., 6.5 hours later after its blastoff.
A view of the China Space Station from the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft. /CMSA
A fast automated rendezvous and docking has been carried out.
Three Shenzhou-17 crewmates will enter the core module afterward, expecting to meet Shenzhou-16 crew members.
A view of the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft from the China Space Station. /CMSA
Earlier today, China launched the Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship, aboard a Long March-2F carrier rocket, at 11:14 a.m. Beijing Time.
Profiles of Shenzhou-17 crew. /CGTN graphics by Yin Yating
The Shenzhou-17 crew, with Tang Hongbo as the commander and Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin as the operators, is scheduled to stay in orbit for about six months.
This is the 30th flight mission of China's manned space program, all of which are successful, and the 12th manned mission of the program.
Read more: China launches Shenzhou-17 mission, sending its youngest trio crew to space
An illustration of China's space station assembly consisting of three modules and three spaceships. /CMSA