China launches manned rocket ship to space station

China on Tuesday launched a rocket carrying three astronauts to its space station to replace three others who have been aboard since November, as Beijing aims to become a major space power.The Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China's northwest province of Gansu at 9:31 a.m., the China Manned Space Agency said. The craft later successfully docked with the space station, China's official Xinhua News Agency said.The three male astronauts, including the country's first civilian one, will carry out spacewalks and cond…READ FULL ARTICLE