China sends third manned mission to build its Tiangong Space Station

• China launched its third manned mission to its under-construction space station on Sunday, sending another three astronauts to continue the final stages of the construction work at the Tiangong Space Station's Tianhe core module for six months before returning to Earth in December. China plans to have Tiangong Space Station fully crewed and operational by December 2022. The astronauts lifted off on the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft at 10:44 a.m. local time, launched by a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, Inner Mongolia.  The crew includes Chen Dong, Liu Yang and CaiXuzhe, according to Chinese state media. China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced about 20 minutes after take-off that the launch of Shenzhou 14 was successful. The first crewed mission, a three-month stay by three other astronauts, was completed in September 2021. The second, Shenzhou-13, saw three astronauts spend six months in space for the first time.
• After Tiangong’s completion, China will be the only country to operate a space station of its own. China has also accomplished landing on Mars last year and on the far side of the moon in 2019. Under President Xi Jinping, China has been carrying out activities to enhance its space prowess which has created another friction area with the US on the ways to govern future space activities.

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