BEIJING (Sputnik) – The spacecraft was launched at 7:30 a.m. local time (23:30 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gobi Desert. The launch was broadcasted by the China Central Television (CCTV).
The crew consists of Maj. Gen. Jing Haipeng and Col. Chen Dong.
The spacecraft is expected to dock with China's space laboratory Tiangong-2, which was launched aboard a carrier rocket on September 15, from the same launch site. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Tiangong-2 has begun conducting in-orbit tests on September 23.
