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Images show China's Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft encased in a shield at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center a day before launch.
China will send a fresh crew to its Tiangong space station on Thursday, Beijing's Manned Space Agency announced, the latest mission in a programme that aims to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES