China is celebrating what it calls a "complete success" after sending its youngest-ever astronauts to the Tiangong space station.

The BBC was given rare access to the Jiuquan Satellite launch centre in Gansu and were just over a kilometre away when Shenzhou 19 blasted off.

The launch is also the latest success in the fast-paced development of China's space industry - and it is reportedly worrying some in the US.

Earlier this year, Nasa chief Bill Nelson said the US and China were “in effect, in a race” to return to the Moon, where he fears Beijing wants to stake territorial claims.

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