China on Tuesday launched a rocket carrying three astronauts to its space station to replace three others who have been aboard since November, as Beijing aims to become a major space power.

The Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China's northwest province of Gansu at 9:31 a.m., the China Manned Space Agency said.

The three male astronauts, including the country's first civilian one, will carry out spacewalks and conduct scientific experiments and technology verification during their five-month stay at the Tiangong space station, which was completed late last year.

==Kyodo

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