China on Thursday successfully launched the Long March-2F rocket carrying three astronauts to its space station Tiangong. The rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China and should dock at the space station around 6.5 hours after the launch, which marks the start of the six-month Shenzhou-20 mission.
The three astronauts will replace their three colleagues currently on the Chinese space station and will stay there for nearly six months to conduct experiments and install a space debris protection device.
The crew is set to return to the Dongfeng landing site in northern China in late October.
