The Shenzhou 11 mission took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China at 7:30 a.m. on Monday morning (2330 UTC Sunday) aboard a Long March-2F carrier rocket.

Space program commander-in-chief General Zhang Youxia declared the launch a success 16 minutes later. Defense Minister Fan Changlong then read a congratulatory message from President Xi Jinping, calling for China's astronauts to explore space "more deeply and more broadly."

On board the space ship are astronauts Jing Haipeng, who is flying his third mission, and 37-year-old Chen Dong. "It is any astronaut's dream and pursuit to be able to perform many space missions," Jing, who will celebrate his 50th birthday during his time in space, told a briefing Sunday.

(DW)