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Added on the 17/10/2016 11:31:32 - Copyright : Reuters EN
China launches its longest manned space mission, sending two astronauts into orbit. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
China sends a fresh crew to its Tiangong space station in the latest mission for a growing space programme that plans to send people to the Moon by 2030. The Shenzhou-17 blasted off from the Jiuquan launch site in arid northwest China at 11:14 am (0314 GMT) Thursday, carrying a three-astronaut team with the youngest average age since the space station's construction. IMAGES
The Shenzhou-16 crew takes off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. IMAGES
Jiuquan, Jun 16(EFE/EPA).- China will put three astronauts into orbit Thursday on its first manned space mission since 2016 to participate in the fine-tuning work of the Tiangong space station, the country’s space agency told state news.The launch of the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft will take place from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in northwest China at 09:22 local time (01:22 GMT) on Thursday, state news Xinhua reported Wednesday.The spacecraft will put astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo into orbit to "verify the main technologies to build and operate the Tiangong station," said Ji Qiming, deputy director of the agency. (Camera: ROMAN PILIPEY). B-ROLL OF THE LAUNCH SITE FOR THE LONG MARCH-2F CARRIER ROCKET, CARRYING THE SHENZHOU-12, THE DAY BEFORE LAUNCHING, AT THE JIUQUAN SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTER, GANSU PROVINCE, CHINA.
A rocket carrying the Chang'e-6 lunar probe blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan province. The Chang'e-6 seeks to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a world first as Beijing pushes ahead with an ambitious programme that aims to send a crewed lunar mission by 2030. IMAGES