China launched three astronauts into space Saturday (June 16), kicking off an ambitous test mission that marks the country's first attempt to dock a manned spaceship in orbit and its first flight of a female astronaut.
The Chinese astronauts rode into orbit aboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, which lifted off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China's northern Gansu province at 6:37 p.m. local time (6:37 a.m. EDT; 1037 GMT).
If all goes according to plan, Shenzhou 9 will soon link up with the unmanned Tiangong 1 space lab, and China will become the third nation — after the United States and Russia — to perform a manned docking in Earth orbit.
The mission is considered a key step in China's ambitious space plans, which include the construction of a permanently staffed space station by 2020 and a manned moon landing sometime after that.
"The launch of the Shenzhou 9 is a highly influential event that marks an important milestone for the development of China's space technology," Cui Jijun, director of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, said Wednesday (June 13), according to the nation's state-run Xinhua news agency. [Liftoff! Launch Photos for China's Shenzhou 9 Mission]
Once Shenzhou 9 reached orbit, cheers rang out at China's launch control center and Chang Wanquan, China's manned spaceflight program chief, declared the liftoff a success.
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