Tiangong, China's space station
The International Space Station isn't the only permanently crewed station in orbit. Since 2021, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has been building and operating its own station, Tiangong ("Heavenly Palace"), run entirely independently of the ISS with no involvement from Western agencies. It's smaller than the ISS, with three main modules, but works on the same principle: a permanent crew rotating through multi-month missions.
The embed above connects to the official CCTV+ channel, the video news agency of Chinese state television, which broadcasts the major launches and events of China's crewed space program in English.
How the crew gets to Tiangong
China doesn't rely on SpaceX or Roscosmos — it launches its own Shenzhou spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, carrying crews of three astronauts (referred to as "taikonauts" in international coverage). Supplies arrive aboard uncrewed Tianzhou cargo vehicles, in a setup very similar to the Russian Progress or the American Cygnus/Dragon cargo craft that resupply the ISS.
💡 Fun fact: US law (the so-called "Wolf Amendment") bars NASA from collaborating with China on joint space projects, which is why Tiangong was developed as a completely separate program instead of joining the ISS partnership.
What you can see in the feed
- Shenzhou spacecraft launches carrying the incoming crew, broadcast in full from liftoff to docking.
- Tianzhou cargo missions delivering supplies and fuel to the station.
- Press briefings and onboard science activities, whenever CCTV+ offers live coverage.