Three astronauts head to space station, embarking on 3-month mission

General Xu Qiliang, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the Chinese military, along with other senior officials watched the mission's launch at the Jiuquan center.

Shenzhou XII, which is carrying three astronauts – Major General Nie Haisheng, Major General Liu Boming and Senior Colonel Tang Hongbo, is set to rendezvous and then dock with the core module, named Tianhe, or Harmony of Heavens, in a matter of hours. Then the crew will float into the module and start their three-month mission inside the craft, the first, and central, section of China's space station, named Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace.

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