https://www.live-feeds.com/feed/pakistani-astronaut-to-board-shenzhou-24-and-become-the-first-foreigner-on-china-s-space-stationContinuously updated, source-cited coverage. https://www.live-feeds.com/feed/pakistani-astronaut-to-board-shenzhou-24-and-become-the-first-foreigner-on-china-s-space-stationhttps://www.live-feeds.com/feed/pakistani-astronaut-to-board-shenzhou-24-and-become-the-first-foreigner-on-china-s-space-station#u195328Thu, 12 Nov 2026 00:15:21 +0000China Manned Space Agency announced Saturday that a Pakistani astronaut will join the Shenzhou-24 crewed mission as a payload specialist, becoming the first foreign national to board the Tiangong space station. The astronaut will complete a short-duration orbital flight and return to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, according to Xinhua. No launch date has been specified. The selection follows a bilateral cooperation agreement between Pakistan and China on human spaceflight.Why it mattersThis marks the first time China has opened its permanently crewed space station to a non-Chinese ast