China Successfully Launches New Manned Spaceship
China successfully launched the Shenzhou-16 manned spaceship, sending three astronauts, including the first civilian, to its space station combination for a 5-month mission.
The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 9.31 a.m. (Beijing Time), according to the China Manned Space Agency.
About 10 minutes after the launch, Shenzhou-16 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. The crew members are in good shape, and the launch is a complete success, the CMSA declared. The astronauts are expected to dock with the station's Tianhe core module about 400 km above the ground after a journey of less than seven hours.
For the first time, China has included a civilian in its rotating crew for the space station, which otherwise remained the domain of military personnel. Gui Haichao, a professor at Beihang University in Beijing regarded as a payload specialist, was among the three astronauts.
The other two are the mission's commander, Jing Haipeng, who is also making history by becoming the first Chinese astronaut to go into space for a record fourth time.
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