Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng, 50, and Chen Dong, 37, were blasted off into space by Shenzhou-11 (heavenly vessel) spacecraft.

China's first woman cosmonaut and two of her colleagues returned to Earth on Friday after successfully accomplishing the country's first-ever manual space docking during a two-week mission, giving a boost to Beijing's efforts to build a space station by 2020.

China completed its first manned space docking on Monday, as a spacecraft carrying three astronauts including the country's first spacewoman, successfully coupled with an orbiting module, in a major milestone for its ambitious space programme.

China will send its first woman into space when an air force pilot joins a three-member team of astronauts on the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft which blasts off on Saturday.

The Shenzhou 7 spacecraft, China's third manned mission, blasted off atop a 'Long March 2F' rocket at 1840 IST under clear night skies from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu Province in northwestern China.