China has launched three astronauts to replace the crew on the Chinese Tiangong space station. The Shenzhou 20 spaceship took off as planned atop China’s workhorse Long March 2F rocket at 5:17 p.m. local time (0917 GMT).

A Pakistani astronaut will become the first foreign national aboard China’s Tiangong space station, as Beijing steps up space diplomacy amid a burgeoning battle with the United States for supremacy in orbit.

Astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie attend a see-off ceremony for the Shenzhou-20 spaceflight mission at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China. China Daily via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.