BEIJING
Chinese authorities has announced that they would send the fifth manned spacecraft to the orbit in 2013.
Manned space program authorities in Beijing said that China will be launching a new spacecraft, the Shenzhou-10, between June and August this year along with three astronauts, as part of its target to establish a 60 tonne space station.
Shenzhou-10 will deliver its crew to the Tiangong 1, where they will conduct further tests of the station's docking system and its systems for supporting life and carrying out scientific work.
China launched its own orbiting laboratory, Tiangong-1, back in September 2011. In November of the same year, Tiangong-1 docked with the Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft, and then later with Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft in June 2012.
