China to launch new manned spaceship in 2013

[tamim_saif]

China plans to launch its Shenzhou 10 spacecraft in early June 2013, one of the senior officials in charge of the manned space programme said on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The launch marks another step forward in Beijing's ambitions for a bigger presence in space that include the construction of a space station by 2020.

The crew could include one female and two male astronauts, who are scheduled to enter the Tiangong 1 space lab module, according to Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of China's manned space programme.