Chinese Central Television broadcast the launch of the crewed spacecraft "Shenzhou-14" from the Jiuquan Space Launch Center in Gansu Province, northwest China. The spacecraft carries a crew of three, including one woman, to the Tiangong space station. The crew is set to spend six months at the space station. The Long March 2F rocket launched as planned at 10:44 Beijing time (5:44 Moscow time).
Earlier, the Chinese Academy of Space Technology announced that it is working on developing new spacecraft to send to the national space station. According to China Daily, the academy is currently developing the Tianzhou-6 spacecraft, which will be much larger than previous Tianzhou spacecraft and designed for longer operational periods. Chinese media indicated that the national space station developed by Beijing is expected to operate for 10 years in space, at altitudes between 340 and 450 kilometers above Earth, and is designed to accommodate three astronauts (or six astronauts for short periods during crew changes). This station will also be used for international space projects.
