China launches crewed Shenzhou-12 spacecraft from Gobi Desert

During the night from Wednesday to Thursday (17 June), three Chinese astronauts departed to China's new Tiangong Space Station. The Long March-2F carrier rocket was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert, Inner Mongolia.

The Chinese Shenzhou-12 spacecraft will dock automatically with the Tianhe core module, which was launched in April and serves as a living module. The astronauts will stay there for three months.

It is China's first human-crewed flight since 2016, and in total only the seventh crewed flight since China became the third country in the world to independently take a human into space in 2003. 

source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: the crewed spacecraft Shenzhou-12, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, is launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert (Xinhua)

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

The United States and Ukraine have signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid. Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped. Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine's mineral wealth as compensation for US weapons sent under former president Joe Biden after Russia invaded just over three years ago.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

The United States and Ukraine have signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid. Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped. Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine's mineral wealth as compensation for US weapons sent under former president Joe Biden after Russia invaded just over three years ago.