Liftoff... [SOT of rocket launching]<br/> <br />China's fifth-manned space mission launched on Tuesday from the Gobi desert in the country's far west.<br/> <br />The three astronauts are headed toward the experimental Tiangong or Heavenly Palace space lab where they will conduct research and test equipment.<br/> <br />They are also set to give a presentation to students watching from Earth during their 15 days in space, the longest manned mission for China's space program.<br/> <br />It is the latest step toward the development of a Chinese space station.<br/> <br />President Xi Jinping oversaw the launch and spoke to the astronauts before they blasted off, describing their mission as "glorious and sacred".<br/> <br />Although still far off from space superpowers Russia and the United States, China continues to advance its program amid U.S. budget cuts and trends seeing the privatization of space travel.
