China launched its latest manned space mission on Monday, taking two astronauts into orbit where they will spend a month aboard an experimental space laboratory that is part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.
The Shenzhou 11 blasted off on a Long March rocket at 7:30 am (2330 GMT) from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert, in images carried live on state television.
