Jiuquan (China) Oct 16: A see-off ceremony for three Chinese astronauts departing on the Shenzhou-13 crewed space mission was held on Friday evening at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
At the command of Li Shangfu, commander-in-chief of China's manned space program, astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu set off at 9:42 p.m. to begin the country's longest-ever crewed space mission for the construction of China's space station.
The Shenzhou-13 spaceship is expected to be launched at 12:23 a.m. Saturday (Beijing Time), and the crew will stay in orbit for six months
Source: Xinhua
