Astronauts Liu Yang, Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang wave during the departure ceremony at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu province, June 16.[Photo/Xinhua]
4:25 pm, June 16
Chinese astronauts enter the Shenzhou IX spacecraft, ready to set out at Jiuquan in Northwest China's Gansu province, June 16, 2012.
4:05 pm, June 16
Chinese astronauts arrive at the launch pad at Jiuquan in Northwest China's Gansu province, June 16, 2012.
3:40 pm, June 16
Top legislator Wu Bangguo delivers speech at the departure ceremony in Jiuquan, Northwest China's Gansu province, June 16, 2012.
3: 30 pm, June 16
The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center holds a departure ceremony for China's first female astronaut and two male crew mates, due to board the Shenzhou IX spacecraft, on Saturday afternoon.
5:30 pm, June 15
Shenzhou IX's upgraded Long March-2F carrier rocket starts being fueled at 5:30 pm, June 15.
China will launch its Shenzhou IX manned spacecraft at 6:37 pm Saturday, sending the country's first female astronaut into space, a spokeswoman said Friday.
Three astronauts, two male and one female, will travel aboard the spacecraft to complete the country's first manual space docking test, said Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China's manned space program, at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
