Astronauts boards chinese space station

Subject : Science & tech

Context : China launches Shenzhou-12 shuttle carrying three astronauts, first crew to new space station.

Concept :

China launched three astronauts as its first crew to its new Tiangong space station on Thursday (June 17), the country’s first manned spaceflight in nearly five years.
The high-stakes mission, named Shenzhou 12, was launched on the back of the Long March 2F rocket.

China’s Space Station:

The new, 66-tonne, multi-module Tiangong station is set to be operational for at least 10 years.
kTianhe is one of three main components of what would be China’s first self-developed space station, rivalling the only other station in service – the ISS.
It forms the main living quarters for three crew members in the Chinese space station.
The Tianhe launch is the first of 11 missions needed to complete the space station, which will orbit Earth at an altitude of 340 to 450 km.
In the later missions, China will launch the two other core modules, four manned spacecraft and four cargo spacecraft.