China blasts off

Astronauts Wang Yaping (L), Nie Haisheng (C) and Zhang Xiaoguang (R) arrive for the launch of the Shenzhou 10 manned space flight at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan in northwest China's Gansu province, June 11, 2013.

China launched the spacecraft on Tuesday, carrying China's second woman astronaut Wu Yaping and two male astronauts Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang into orbit.

It is China's fifth manned space mission and its longest.

The Long March-2F rocket carrying China's manned Shenzhou-10 spacecraft blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2013.

The crew will be transported to the Tiangong 1, which functions as an experimental prototype for a much larger Chinese space station to be launched in 2020. The craft will spend 12 days docked with the Tiangong.

The Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou 10 capsule blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2013.

China is hoping to join the United States and Russia as the only countries to send independently maintained space stations into orbit. It is already one of just three nations to have launched manned spacecraft on its own.

Astronauts Wang Yaping (L), Nie Haisheng (C) and Zhang Xiaoguang (R) attend a news conference for the launch of Shenzhou 10 planned manned spaceflight at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan in northwest China's Gansu province, June 10, 2013.

The Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou 10 capsule blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2013.

Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping at a press event at the Jiuquan satellite launch center near Jiuquan in western China's Gansu province, June 10, 2013.

Vapor trails from the rocket carrying the Shenzhou 10 capsule after it blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2013.

Residents watch the live broadcast of the Shenzhou 10 launch from TV sets at an electronics store in Shijiazhuang in central China's Hubei province, June 11, 2013.

On the heels of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's wildly popular YouTube videos from the International Space Station, the Chinese crew plans to deliver a series of talks to students from aboard the Tiangong.

Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping, left, speaks from behind a glass enclosure next to fellow astronauts Nie Haisheng, center, and Zhang Xiaoguang, right, as they meet the press at the Jiuquan satellite launch center near Jiuquan in western China's Gansu province, June 10, 2013.

The Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou 10 capsule blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2013.

The Long March-2F rocket carrying China's manned Shenzhou-10 spacecraft lifts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2013.

A child wears a replica of a space suit to pose for photos at an exhibition of China's achievements in its space program in Hefei, in central China's Anhui province, June 11, 2013.

The Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou 10 capsule blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2013.

Chinese astronaut Nie Haisheng, sitting from behind a glass enclosure, speaks to the media at the Jiuquan satellite launch center near Jiuquan in western China's Gansu province, Monday, June 10, 2013. Three Chinese astronauts will take flight this week, on Tuesday if weather permits, aboard a Shenzhou spacecraft to the dock with China's Tiangong 1 space lab. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Children play at an exhibition of China's achievements in its space program in Hefei, in central China's Anhui province, June 11, 2013.

Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping speaks from behind a glass enclosure during a press event at the Jiuquan satellite launch center near Jiuquan in western China's Gansu province, June 10, 2013.

The Long March-2F rocket carrying China's manned Shenzhou-10 spacecraft lifts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2013.

China's astronauts from left, Wang Yaping, Zhang Xiaoguang and Nie Haisheng wave as they leave the Jiuquan satellite launch center near Jiuquan in western China's Gansu province, June 11, 2013.

Chinese astronaut Nie Haisheng, center, speaks from behind a glass enclosure next to fellow astronauts, Wang Yaping, left, and Zhang Xiaoguang, as they meet the press at the Jiuquan satellite launch center near Jiuquan in western China's Gansu province, June 10, 2013.

Chinese astronaut Zhang Xiaoguang speaks to the media at the Jiuquan satellite launch center near Jiuquan in western China's Gansu province, June 10, 2013.

Chinese astronaut Nie Haisheng, center, salutes from behind a glass enclosure next to Wang Yaping, left, and Zhang Xiaoguang, right, as they meet the press at the Jiuquan satellite launch center near Jiuquan in western China's Gansu province, June 10, 2013.

Chinese tourists take group photos in front of the assembly of the Long March 2F rocket and the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan in northwest China's Gansu Province, June 11, 2013.