Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China - June 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of Long March-2F carrier rocket carrying Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship blasting off

USA - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. SOUNDBITE (English) James Head, former researcher, U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Apollo program; geological sciences professor, Brown University (starting with shot 1/ending with shot 3):
"It's really significant. I was giving a seminar at China University of Geosciences in Wuhan last night and we paused in the middle of my seminar to watch the launch. It was just great. Then we came back and we talked about the seminar. These are very exciting times for the Chinese space program, and it's incredible to be able to have this additional capability in the earth orbit in addition to the international space station, to open up this kind of exploration to everyone."

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, northwest China - June 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of Long March-2F carrier rocket carrying Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship ascending; astronauts on board spaceship

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - June 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Thiago Goncelves, astronomy professor, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (partially overlaid with shot 5):
"China now has the capacity to develop this space exploration technology on its own, so this is something admirable. Not only is it an important step in this space exploration mission, but from the point of view of scientific development, there is also a great opportunity to see several experiments in the area of biomedical sciences in zero gravity, fluid, and materials physics."

In Space - June 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
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5. Split screen showing animation of rocket carrying Shenzhou-12; astronauts on board
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6. Split screen showing separation of second-stage rocket from Shenzhou-12; astronauts on board
7. Shenzhou-12 in flight, earth

Jordan - June 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr. Ali Taani, associate professor of astrophysics, Al-Balqa Applied University (partially overlaid with shot 9)
"China's space technology has once again proved its world-class superiority and strength to the world. Now the whole world is turning its eyes to China to learn from its advanced experience and technology, which has proved that China is among the leading nations in space. This shows the level of China's space technology and its plan to seek sustainable development and to carry out cooperation with the rest of the world in this field in the future."

In Space - June 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
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9. Split screen showing wolar panel unfolding, Shenzhou-12 in flight, astronauts on board
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10. Astronauts entering Tianhe core module of China's space station from Shenzhou-12

Indonesia - June 17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Yohanes Surya, Indonesian scientist (partially overlaid with shot 12):
"This will give China confidence to complete plans for the construction of the Tiangong Space Station in 2022, next year. So the station is very important and has very advanced equipment. This can support physics research, especially in the field of general relativity and quantum mechanics. China has been willing to cooperate with other countries in research that uses China's space station. So this collaboration is not beneficial for China or the member countries only, but also for humankind."

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FILE: China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Animations of Shenzhou-12 spacecraft docking with Tianhe space station core cabin
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Beijing, China - Recent (China National Space Administration - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Animation showing complex composed of Shenzhou-12 spaceship, Tianhe core module, Tianzhou-2 cargo craft

FILE: China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
14. Animation of spacecraft in space

The Shenzhou-12 manned mission is not only of great significance to China's space program, but also adds new impetus to the international aerospace industry, according to experts from around the world.

China on Thursday launched the crewed spacecraft Shenzhou-12, sending three astronauts to its space station core module Tianhe for the construction of China's space station.

Members of the three-man space crew are scheduled to stay in orbit for three months to build the country's space station, making it China's longest manned mission to date.

James Head, former researcher of U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Apollo program and a professor of geological sciences at Brown University, who referred to the launch of Shenzhou-12 as very "significant".

"It's really significant. I was giving a seminar at China University of Geosciences in Wuhan last night and we paused in the middle of my seminar to watch the launch. It was just great. Then we came back and we talked about the seminar. These are very exciting times for the Chinese space program, and it's incredible to be able to have this additional capability in the earth orbit in addition to the international space station, to open up this kind of exploration to everyone," said Head.

Thiago Goncelves, an astronomy professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, also spoke highly of China's performance in the aerospace industry.

"China now has the capacity to develop this space exploration technology on its own, so this is something admirable. Not only is it an important step in this space exploration mission, but from the point of view of scientific development, there is also a great opportunity to see several experiments in the area of biomedical sciences in zero gravity, fluid, and materials physics," said Goncelves.

Astronauts entering the Chinese space station for the first time has significant meaning for long-term research projects in space, added Dr. Ali Taani, an associate professor of astrophysics at Jordan's Al-Balqa Applied University.

"China's space technology has once again proved its world-class superiority and strength to the world. Now the whole world is turning its eyes to China to learn from its advanced experience and technology, which has proved that China is among the leading nations in space. This shows the level of China's space technology and its plan to seek sustainable development and to carry out cooperation with the rest of the world in this field in the future," said Taani.

The successful launch of Shenzhou-12 will give confidence to China to complete its plans for the construction of the Tiangong Space Station next year, commented Indonesian scientist Yohanes Surya.

"So the station is very important and has very advanced equipment. This can support physics research, especially in the field of general relativity and quantum mechanics. China has been willing to cooperate with other countries in research that uses China's space station. So this collaboration is not beneficial for China or the member countries only, but also for humankind," he said.