The combination of the Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket is transferred to the launching area in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China, November 21, 2022. Photo: Li Yunxi/Xinhua

China's Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship successfully docked with the space station combination early on Wednesday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The spaceship, launched on Tuesday night, conducted a fast automated rendezvous and docked with the front port of the space station's Tianhe module at 5:42 a.m. Wednesday (Beijing Time), said the CMSA.

The whole process took approximately 6.5 hours, the CMSA said.

The astronaut trio aboard Shenzhou-15 will then enter the Tianhe module and the three astronauts of the Shenzhou-14 crew have gotten ready for the arrival of the Shenzhou-15 crew, it said.

It is the first time that Chinese astronauts aboard the space station have seen the visit of a crewed spaceship, according to the CMSA.

The spaceship, atop the Long March-2F Y15 carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 11:08 pm Tuesday (Beijing Time).