On Sunday, China successfully launched three astronauts on a six-month mission to complete the construction of its space station orbiting the earth. The Shenzhou-14 spacecraft, carrying astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang, and Cai Xuzhe, launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The official at ground control announced minutes later that the mission had been a success, saying that the spacecraft had reached its target orbit.

With ground team assistance, the trio will assemble and build the Tiangong space station, which will evolve from a single module structure to a national space laboratory comprised of three modules: the core, Tianhe, and two labs, Wentian and Mengtian.

Live coverage of the event was televised throughout the country. Lin Xiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), announced on Saturday that the space station would become a national space laboratory.

Lin said the Shenzhou-14 crew will work with the ground team to complete the rendezvous, docking, and transposition of the two lab modules with the core module.

They will enter the two lab modules for the first time and help to prepare the environment for their stay, he said, adding that they would unlock and install 12 scientific experiment cabinets in each module. China has sent a second set of six astronauts to build its space station.

A Chinese astronaut crew, including a woman, returned to earth in April after completing a record six months of working on essential parts of the space station, due for completion this year. CMSA reports that they have already verified the key technologies of its space station.

When the Chinese space station is ready, it will be the only one in the world. The Russian space station (ISS) is a collaborative project of several countries. China Space Station (CSS) will also compete with Russia's ISS. Observers say CSS may one day replace the ISS when it leaves orbit in a few years.

China announced its ambitious plans for its growing space industry in February, which included over 50 space launches and six manned space flights to complete the construction of its space station.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced its plans to launch more than 50 spacecraft in 2022.

Commander Chen participated in the crewed spaceflight mission Shenzhou-11. Lin Xiang, deputy director of the CMSA, said at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre that Liu was part of the Shenzhou-9 mission and Cai is new to space.

Lin said the trio will stay in orbit for six months. The Shenzhou-14 crew will witness the docking of the two lab modules, Tianzhou-5 cargo craft, and Shenzhou-15 crewed spacecraft with Tianhe's core module during their stay in orbit.

Lin said the crew will rotate in orbit with the Shenzhou-15 crew before returning to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in December. With the launch of Tianhe in April 2021, the first and largest of the station's three modules, China began the construction of its three-module space station.