China launches 1st manned space flight, with woman astronaut

Three Chinese astronauts, including China's first female astronaut, blasted off in the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft today in the country's first manned space flight.

Launching the first manned space docking mission in China, and including the country's first ever woman astronaut, the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft launched successfully at 10:37 GMT from Jiuquan launch center in north-west Gansu province.

China has now moved one step closer to becoming the second nation in the world performing regular space flights... read more and watch video.

Iran space center 80% complete

Not to be left behind in the space race, Iran has almost completed its new space center. This will be used to launch satellites made by Iran and other Muslim nations.

The country´s defense minister has advised that the new space center is 80% complete.

Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said on Saturday that the first space mission from this new facility will be the launch of Tolou (Dawn) satellite... read more.