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 three male astronauts, including the country's first civilian one, will carry out spacewalks and conduct scientific experiments and technology verification during their five-month stay at the Tiangong spa...