China sent three astronauts on Wednesday to its permanently inhabited space station, where they will conduct dozens of scientific experiments, some related to the construction of human habitats.
The spacecraft Shenzhou-19 and its three crew lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 4:27 a.m., according to state media.
"During the Shenzhou-19 flight ... 86 space sci-tech experiments will be carried out in the fields of space life sciences, microgravity physics, materials, medicine, new technologies," Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), said in a press conference on Tuesday.
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