Live coverage: Chinese astronauts blast off on Long March rocket

China’s first six-month human spaceflight mission launched Friday at 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 GMT). Three Chinese astronauts rode into orbit from the Jiuquan launch base in the Gobi Desert on the Shenzhou 13 spacecraft, heading for a link-up with China’s space station about six-and-a-half hours after liftoff.