China launched a manned space mission on Tuesday from the Gobi Desert. The craft is carrying two men and one woman.

The Shenzhou-10 apcecraft took off on its 15-day mission after the astronauts met with Chinese president Xi Jinping on its mission to dock up with China’s prototype space station. President Xi Jinping said to the astronauts at the launch, “You are the pride of the Chinese people, and this mission is both glorious and sacred.”

The next generation space station is estimated to weigh about 60 tons, making it about 15% the size of the International space station.

The astronauts will attempt two dockings, one will be manual and the other will be automatic. During their flight the Chinese astronauts will also test the station’s life support systems. China performed its first docking with the space station one year ago in June.

As well as practicing docking at the prototype Tiangong 1 station, the astronauts will deliver a series of physics lectures to students back on earth.

This new space station is soley a Chinese endeavor. China was not allowed to participate in the International space station on account of the United Station objections because of China’s space program’s close link to their military.

Wang Yaping is the second Chinese female astronaut to reach space and the first Chinese astronaut to enter space that was born in the 1980s. She was selected for the space program in 2010.

This is the fifth manned space mission by the Chinese since 2003.