China launched the Shenzhou 16 manned spacecraft from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province in northwestern China on Tuesday.
The Long March 2F carrier rocket took off as scheduled at 9:31 a.m. Beijing time (0131a.m. GMT).
The spacecraft will deliver a crew of three to the Tiangong space station, RIA Novosti reported.
After the launch of Shenzhou 16, the number of people simultaneously in Earth's orbit has reached 17, breaking the previous record of 14 people, set in 2021.
Three cosmonauts are flying to the Tiangong space station, where three others are already working. Eleven people, including Russian cosmonauts and US astronauts, are currently working on the International Space Station (ISS).
