05-07-2021 | 11:14 AM
Shenzhou-12
• China launched a spacecraft Shenzhou-12, carrying three astronauts to part of a space station still under construction for the longest stay in low Earth orbit by any Chinese national.
• China is the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to carry out a manned mission on its own.
• Shenzhou-12 means Divine Vessel. It will be the third out of 11 missions that China needs to complete the space station by 2022.
• This is the first of two manned space missions planned for this year, part of an intense schedule of launches aimed at completing the Chinese space station in 2022.
