Chinese craft docks at space station at start of three-month mission

A Long March-2F Y12 rocket carries a crew of Chinese astronauts in a Shenzhou-12 spaceship (Ng Han Guan/AP)

A Chinese spaceship carrying a three-man crew docked with China’s new space station at the start of three-month mission on Thursday, marking a milestone in the country’s ambitious space program.

The Shenzhou-12 craft connected with the Tianhe space station module about six hours after take-off from the Jiuquan launch centre on the edge of the Gobi Desert.