JIUQUAN, China (AP) — China is set to send the first three crew members to its new space station on Thursday morning. A space agency official told reporters at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China that two of the astronauts have flown previously while the third is flying in space for the first time. The three men plan to spend three months on the space station conducting spacewalks, maintenance work and science experiments. The main section of the Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, station was launched in April. Thursday’s launch is one of several missions to build and supply the station and send up crew. China also envisions foreign participation in the space station once it’s complete.
