© Kevin Frayer/Getty Images China's Shenzhou-12 spacecraft lifts off on Thursday with three astronauts bound for a space station China is building. China launched the first astronauts to its space station on Thursday, taking a significant stride in what some U.S. officials have dubbed a new space race between the two countries. In total, China will conduct 11 missions this year and next to complete the space station. My colleagues and I will cooperate closely, operate carefully and overcome all difficulties.”China’s space station could soon be the only one in orbit. “After the completion of China’s space station, in the near future, we will see both Chinese and foreign astronauts jointly participate in the flight of the Chinese space station,” Ji Qiming, assistant to the director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, told reporters.
