On Tuesday, China launched three crew members to its Tiangong space station, placing humans into orbit for the first time as it works toward sending a crewed trip to the Moon by 2030.

The world's second-largest economy has committed billions of dollars to its military-run space program to catch up with the United States and Russia.

AFP correspondents witnessed the Shenzhou-16 crew launch aboard a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 9:31 a.m local time

PHOTO | COURTESY Chinese mission docks at the space station

According to state broadcaster CCTV, they arrived at the Tianhe core module of the space station on Tuesday afternoon, more than six hours after taking off.

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According to Zou Lipeng, director of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the launch was a "complete success," and the "astronauts are in good condition."

Dozens of space program employees, many of whom live on the massive site year-round, attended the launch, taking pictures with the rocket in the background.

Children entertained themselves while waiting for the launch, some waving Chinese flags while sitting on their parent's shoulders.

As the rocket took off in a cloud of ochre smoke, spectators let out a loud "wow" while chanting "good luck" and waving.

Its crew includes commander Jing Haipeng, on his fourth mission, engineer Zhu Yangzhu, and Beihang University professor Gui Haichao, the first Chinese civilian in space.

According to authorities, Shenzhou-16 was the first mission to Tiangong after it entered the "application and development" stage.

PHOTO | COURTESY Chinese mission docks at the space station

The crew will meet their three Shenzhou-15 mission companions, who have been aboard the station for six months and will return to Earth in the coming days.

The crew of Shenzhou-16 will conduct several experiments throughout the journey, including research into "high-precision space time-frequency systems," general relativity, and the origin of life, according to China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) spokeswoman Lin Xiqiang on Monday.

This month, the space station was resupplied with drinking water, clothing, food, and fuel in anticipation of the arrival of Shenzhou-16.