
China on Sunday launched a rocket carrying three astronauts on a mission to complete construction on its new space station, the latest milestone in Beijing's drive to become a major space power.
The trio blasted off in a Long March-2F rocket at (0244 GMT) from the Jiuquan launch center in northwestern China's Gobi desert, said state broadcaster CCTV, with the team to spend six months expanding the Tiangong space station.