China will launch an empty spacecraft to the Tiangong space station overnight tonight (Nov. 24), to provide a lifeboat for its 3 stranded astronauts currently living and working aboard.

A Long March 2F/G rocket is scheduled to launch the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft today, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in China's Gobi Desert. Liftoff is scheduled during a 30-minute launch window that begins at 11:11 p.m. EST (0411 GMT, Nov. 25; 11:11 a.m. Beijing Time).

Chinese state media channels confirmed the launch online, and indicated that propellant loading for the rocket was completed early Friday morning. The Shenzhou 22 mission patch was also revealed Monday, with images of the Long March 2F rocket and Shenzhou spacecraft rising from China's Great Wall to the Tiangong space statio

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