JIUQUAN, China, June 16 (UPI) -- China's Shenzhou-9 spacecraft was launched into orbit Saturday, carrying three astronauts, including the country's first female astronaut, officials said.
The spacecraft, fired from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in western China, is to spend 20 days in space and dock with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module, The New York Times reported.