China’s second crewed mission to its new space station is underway.
The nation’s Shenzhou 13 spacecraft launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert today (Oct. 15), rising off the pad atop a Long March 2F rocket at 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT; 00:23 Oct. 16 local time).
Shenzhou 13 and its three passengers — commander Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu — are headed toward Tianhe, the core module of the Tiangong space station that China is building in low Earth orbit.
