The Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft will be launched at 5:38 p.m. Tuesday with three astronauts on board, China's manned space program spokeswoman said on Monday.

The Long March-2F carrier rocket is seen at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan. [Xinhuanet]

During the mission, the Shenzhou spacecraft is expected to dock with the orbiting lab module Tiangong-1, which was sent into space in September 2011. Tiangong-1 was docked with the Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft in November 2011, and with the Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft in June 2012.

The objectives of the new mission include further assessing the performance of the docking system, the combination's capabilities in supporting life and work, and the abilities of astronauts on the job.

Research on astronauts' abilities to adapt to the environment in the space module will also be conducted, in addition to tests on repairing orbiting spacecraft and other key technologies necessary for developing a space station.

China plans to build its own space station around 2020.

During the mission, astronauts will also give science lectures to teenage spectators back on Earth.

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