China to carry out manned space flight

China has announced it will carry out a manned space flight at some point in the middle of June. A rocket carrying the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft has been moved to a launch pad in the north-west of the country.

According to state news agency Xinhua, it will carry three astronauts - possibly including a woman - to the Tiangong 1 space station module. This will be China's fourth manned space flight and its first since 2008. It became only the third country to independently send a man into space in 2003.

Last year, China completed a complicated space docking manoeuvre when an unmanned craft docked with the Tiangong 1, or "Heavenly Body", by remote control. The astronauts onboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft will also dock with the Tiangong 1 - an experimental module currently orbiting Earth - and carry out scientific experiments on board.

Xinhua reported that Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of China's manned space programme, said the crew "might include female astronauts". The mission is part of China's programme to develop a full orbiting space station. Beijing is planning to complete the 60-tonne manned space station by 2020.

China was previously turned away from the International Space Station, a much bigger project run by 16 nations, reportedly after objections from the United States.