China set to send first crew to new space station Thursday

China is set to send the first three crew members to its new space station on Thursday morning

JIUQUAN, China -- China is set to send the first three crew members to its new space station Thursday morning, China's space agency said. Two of the astronauts flew in previous missions while the third is going to space for the first time, China Manned Space Agency Assistant Director Ji Qiming told reporters at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on Wednesday. The main section of the Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, station was launched into orbit on April 29. The three men heading to the space station on Thursday plan to live there for three months, conducting spacewalks, maintenance work and science experiments. The astronauts will be traveling in the Shenzhou-12 spaceship launched by a Long March-2F Y12 rocket set to blast off at 9:22 a.m. (0122 GMT) Thursday.