China launches crewed spacecraft Shenzhou-12 in historic mission.
JIUUQUAN, China, June 17 - China unveiled a spacecraft on Thursday carrying three astronauts to the part of a spacecraft that has been built for longest possible stay in earth's lower orbit.
The long March 2F rocket transporting Shenzhou-12, or "Divine Vessel", bound for Tianhe station exploded at 9:22 a.m. Beijing time (0122 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwest of Gansu province.
Shenzhou-12 is the third of 11 machines - four of which will be used - needed to complete China's first full-fledged space station. Construction began in April with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of the three.
Aeronautics Nie Haisheng, 56, Liu Boming, 54, and Tang Hongbo, 45, will operate and stay in Tianhe, the residence of the future space station, for three months.
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While living in a cylinder-like town, larger than a city bus, the three men will test the technology of this module, including its health support system.
These men will also be monitored for long-term physical and mental mobility. Upcoming equipment at the space station will last for six months.
"This will be the first anointed aircraft in the (construction) space station, and I'm lucky to be able to have the 'first stick'," Nie told reporters in Jiuquan a day before the launch of the program.
The space veteran has been honored by his team as a foundation for stability with a teacher who always poses difficult questions to others.
"As long as we have him in our hearts, we have nothing to fear," astronaut Wang Yaping, part of the Shenzhou-12 backup team, told state media earlier.
"In our group, my older brother Nie is like a needle that calms the sea," he said.
Liu Boming, like Nie, was from the first group of actors working in 1990 on China's space program.
Known for his ingenuity, Liu is often referred to by his colleagues as "Little Zhuge", a famous military strategist who lived in China two thousand years ago.
On a trip to Shenzhou-7 in 2008, Liu sadly used a crowbar to open a hatch after it refused to open.
Former air force pilot Tang Hongbo, 45, came from a spacecraft, and trained for more than a decade before being selected for his first flight in Shenzhou-12.
"I've been waiting 11 years, and I'm finally ready, and I can give my all," Tang told reporters Wednesday.
Since 2003, China has launched six combined missions and sent 11 astronauts into space, including Zhai Zhigang, who made China's first space mission ever launched in Shenzhou in 2008.
The long March 2F rocket transporting Shenzhou-12, or "Divine Vessel", bound for Tianhe station exploded at 9:22 a.m. Beijing time (0122 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwest of Gansu province.
Shenzhou-12 is the third of 11 machines - four of which will be used - needed to complete China's first full-fledged space station. Construction began in April with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of the three.
Aeronautics Nie Haisheng, 56, Liu Boming, 54, and Tang Hongbo, 45, will operate and stay in Tianhe, the residence of the future space station, for three months.
While living in a cylinder-like town, larger than a city bus, the three men will test the technology of this module, including its health support system.
These men will also be monitored for long-term physical and mental mobility. Upcoming equipment at the space station will last for six months.
"This will be the first anointed aircraft in the (construction) space station, and I'm lucky to be able to have the 'first stick'," Nie told reporters in Jiuquan a day before the launch of the program.
The space veteran has been honored by his team as a foundation for stability with a teacher who always poses difficult questions to others.
"As long as we have him in our hearts, we have nothing to fear," astronaut Wang Yaping, part of the Shenzhou-12 backup team, told state media earlier.
"In our group, my older brother Nie is like a needle that calms the sea," he said.
Liu Boming, like Nie, was from the first group of actors working in 1990 on China's space program.
Known for his ingenuity, Liu is often referred to by his colleagues as "Little Zhuge", a famous military strategist who lived in China two thousand years ago.
On a trip to Shenzhou-7 in 2008, Liu sadly used a crowbar to open a hatch after it refused to open.
Former air force pilot Tang Hongbo, 45, came from a spacecraft, and trained for more than a decade before being selected for his first flight in Shenzhou-12.
"I've been waiting 11 years, and I'm finally ready, and I can give my all," Tang told reporters Wednesday.
Since 2003, China has launched six combined missions and sent 11 astronauts into space, including Zhai Zhigang, who made China's first space mission ever launched in Shenzhou in 2008.
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