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| China's Shenzhou 11 blasts off on space station mission | China's Shenzhou 11 blasts off on space station mission |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| China has launched two men into orbit in a project designed to develop its ability to explore space. | China has launched two men into orbit in a project designed to develop its ability to explore space. |
| The astronauts took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China. | The astronauts took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China. |
| They will dock with the experimental Tiangong 2 space lab and spend 30 days there, the longest stay in space by Chinese astronauts. | They will dock with the experimental Tiangong 2 space lab and spend 30 days there, the longest stay in space by Chinese astronauts. |
| This and previous launches are seen as pointers to possible crewed missions to the Moon or Mars. | This and previous launches are seen as pointers to possible crewed missions to the Moon or Mars. |
| An earlier Tiangong - or Heavenly Palace - space station was decommissioned earlier this year after docking with three rockets. | |
| The astronauts on this latest mission were Jing Haipeng, 49, who has already been to space twice, and 37-year-old Chen Dong. | |
| Source of considerable pride - Stephen McDonell, BBC News, Jiuquan | Source of considerable pride - Stephen McDonell, BBC News, Jiuquan |
| From a remote launching station in Inner Mongolia I'm watching as a rocket tears through the sky. It will take the astronauts about two days to reach the orbiting laboratory where they will live for a month. | From a remote launching station in Inner Mongolia I'm watching as a rocket tears through the sky. It will take the astronauts about two days to reach the orbiting laboratory where they will live for a month. |
| While on board the pair will carry out experiments including an examination of plant growth in space. They'll also use ultrasound equipment to test their own bodies. | While on board the pair will carry out experiments including an examination of plant growth in space. They'll also use ultrasound equipment to test their own bodies. |
| This mission is a source of considerable national pride here. So much so that even the foreign media has been allowed into this military base to view the launch. | This mission is a source of considerable national pride here. So much so that even the foreign media has been allowed into this military base to view the launch. |
| Their spacecraft, Shenzhou-11, took off from at 07:30 local time on Monday (23:30 GMT), lifted by a Long March-2F rocket. | Their spacecraft, Shenzhou-11, took off from at 07:30 local time on Monday (23:30 GMT), lifted by a Long March-2F rocket. |
| The astronauts will spend the next month conducting experiments on the Tiangong 2. | The astronauts will spend the next month conducting experiments on the Tiangong 2. |
| China plans to expand the lab over the next few years by sending up additional modules. It is expected to be fully operational by 2022. | China plans to expand the lab over the next few years by sending up additional modules. It is expected to be fully operational by 2022. |
| In a congratulatory statement to the astronauts carried by state media, President Xi Jinping said he hoped they "vigorously advance the spirit of space travel". | |
| He added that the mission would "enable China to take larger and further steps in space exploration, and make new contributions to building up China as a country that is strong in space travel". | |
| China is only the third country - after Russia and the US - to carry out its own crewed space missions. | China is only the third country - after Russia and the US - to carry out its own crewed space missions. |
| In 2013 it successfully landed its un-crewed Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, rover on the Moon. | In 2013 it successfully landed its un-crewed Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, rover on the Moon. |