China on Saturday sent three astronauts to its space station for six months. Against the backdrop of the country's completion of the orbiting structure, the mission aims to set the record for the longest time spent in space by Chinese astronauts.
The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft carrying three astronauts took off at 12:25 p.m. local time along with the Long March-2F vehicle. It is expected that the vehicle will reconnect with China's space station Tian within six hours and start its mission.
Two experienced people are among the astronauts who will leave. Pilots Jie Jigang (55) and Wang Yuping (41) and Ye Guangfu (41), a female passenger in the mission, are also involved in this, their first flight.
