China Launches 3 Astronauts On 6-Month Space Station Mission

China has sent three astronauts into orbit for a six month mission aboard its Tiangong space station.

China on Saturday sent three astronauts to its space station for a record-setting six-month stay as the country moves toward completing the new orbiting outpost.

The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft carrying the three astronauts was launched by a Long March-2F rocket at 12:25 a.m. Saturday and docked at the Tiangong space station at about 6:53 a.m., approximately six and a half hours after it launched.

The two men and one woman are the second crew to move into the space station, which was launched last April. The first crew stayed three months.