China launches manned spaceflight in three-month mission

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) GUANGZHO, June 17 (KUNA) - China, on Thursday, launched a manned-spacecraft Shenzhou-12, which is expected to send three astronauts to its space station core module Tianhe for a three-month mission.Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSA) as saying that the spacecraft, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite launch center in northwest China's Gobi Desert.It is China's seventh crewed mission to space and the first during the construction of China's space station, said CMSA.It is also the first in nearly five years after the country's last manned mission, it added.The three astronauts are expected to set a new record for China's manned space mission duration, exceeding the 33 days kept by the Shenzhou-11 crew in 2016. (end) mab.aa MENAFN17062021000071011013ID1102298502