China launched a spacecraft on Thursday carrying three astronauts to part of a space station still under construction for the longest stay in low-Earth orbit by any Chinese national.
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. Beijing time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu province.
Shenzhou-12 is the third of 11 missions — four of which will be crewed — needed to complete China's first full-fledged space station. Construction began in April with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of three modules.
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