Chinese rocket carrying first crew to new space station blasts off

The Long March-2F Y12 rocket carrying the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft takes off near Jiuquan, Gansu province, on June 17, 2021. - Reuters

BEIJING (Global Times): Riding atop the Long March-2F Y12 carrier rocket, the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft was successfully launched into preset orbit on Thursday (June 17) morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert in Southwest China's Gansu Province, signifying that China's Tianhe space station core cabin module is now only hours away from receiving its first batch of astronauts for their three-month stay.

The “Divine Vessel” entered its designated orbit after separating with the rocket 573 seconds after its launch, declaring full success for the launch mission, Global Times learned from China’s Manned Space Agency.