China has launched the manned Shenzhou 10 spacecraft on a Long March 2F/G (CZ-2F/G) rocket from the Jiuquan launch site in China at 0938 GMT on 11 June. For its fifth manned spaceflight mission, three astronauts (taikonauts) flew into orbit on the Shenzhou 10 mission. Aboard the flight was Nie Haishang (Commander) and Zhang Xiaoguan, along with China’s second female astronaut Wang Yaping. The mission is to dock with the mini-space station Tiangong 1 and crew it for a time. The crew is also expected to make a “fly around” of the space station as part of the mission.
Shenzhou 10 launch. Courtesy: CCTV
