The three person team will dock with an experimental space lab for a fifteen-day voyage, having blasted off this morning to local displays of patriotism and propaganda. President Xi Jinping was in attendance to see the crew off, with state media heavily covering the event from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre.

Astronauts Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping (China’s second female astronaut) have successfully entered orbit in their Shenzhou 10 spacecraft. They are expected to dock with the Tiangong or ‘Heavenly Palace’ orbiting laboratory later in the week, with many predicting the mission to be a trial-run for a potential full Chinese space station.

The launch – China’s fifth manned mission – was broadcast live through both hull and cockpit cameras. The astronauts and ground team will be taking inspiration from Chris Hadfield and keeping in contact with the Chinese public from space. Wang will conduct experiments and educational lessons through video link with schoolchildren. At a pre-launch press conference, Wang told reporters she was “eager to explore and feel the magic and splendour of space with young friends.”

Despite being far behind the US and Russia in terms of space technology, China have been pouring resources into the field while NASA and others are hindered by budget cuts and shifting priorities. Chinese scientists have expressed a goal of sending an unmanned mission to the moon within the next decade.

Although the launch has received wide coverage in both Chinese and international media, the latest mission has also received criticism. Reuters report that there has been some negative reaction on China’s Weibo social network, with one poster wondering “why don't they spend this money solving China's real problems instead of wasting it like this?”