China's space agency is gearing up to launch a new crew to its space station on Thursday as part of its ambitious space program. The three-member crew of the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft will replace the current team who have been on duty at China's Tiangong space station since last October.
China's decision to build its own space station came after being excluded from the International Space Station, primarily due to concerns from the United States regarding the involvement of the People's Liberation Army in the program. This year, China plans for two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions.
