Chinese astronauts launch to space station as construction enters final stages

Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe (L), Chen Dong (C) and Liu Yang pose during a ceremony prior to launch at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on June 5, 2022. © AFP

China sent three astronauts on Sunday on a six-month mission to oversee an important period of construction on its space station. Final modules are due to be launched in the coming months.

The space station, when completed by the year-end, will lay a significant milestone in China's three-decades long manned space programme, first approved in 1992 and initially code-named "Project 921". It will also flag the start of permanent Chinese habitation in space.