Rocket moves to launch pad as China prepares to send first crew to space station

A three-man crew is due to blast off for a mission on China’s new space station (Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua via AP)

The rocket that will send the first crew members to live on China’s new orbiting space station has been moved onto the launch pad ahead of its planned blast-off next week.

The three astronauts plan to spend three months on the space station doing spacewalks, construction and maintenance work and science experiments.