China launched its Shenzhou IX manned spacecraft at 6:37 pm on June 16, sending the country's first female astronaut into space.

The launch?aimes?to?perform the country's first manned space docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module.

Three astronauts boarded the spacecraft.

One of the three Shenzhou?IX?crew members will not board the Tiangong-1 space module lab, but will remain inside the spacecraft as a precautionary measure. All of the crew members will stay 13 days in space.