China on Thursday successfully launched a spacecraft carrying three astronauts to part of a space station still under construction for the longest stay in low Earth orbit by any Chinese national.
The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China's Gobi Desert. A Long March 2F rocket transporting the Shenzhou-12, or Divine Vessel, bound for the space station module Tianhe blasted off at 9:22 a.m from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu province.
The launch time saw bright blue skies with near perfect visibility at the launch center on the edge of the Gobi Desert.
The two veteran astronauts and a newcomer making his first space flight are heading to the Tianhe station for a three-month stay in its main living compartment for three months while they carry out experiments, test equipment, conduct maintenance and prepare the station for receiving two additional modules next year.
It is China's seventh crewed mission to space and the first during the construction of China's space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). It is also the first in nearly five years after the country's last manned mission in 2016.
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