China's Shenzhou-11 spacecraft docked Oct. 19 with the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, which went up last month. The Shenzhou-11 launched Oct. 16 and carried two Chinese astronauts, known as "taikonauts," making it the country's first manned launch since 2013 and its sixth in the history of its space program. The mission will last 30 days, double that of China's next longest manned spaceflight. During that time, the crew will test several necessary functions designed to support a much longer continuously manned space station that China intends to launch in the next decade. Although China is one of the world's leading spacefaring nations and one of just three countries to achieve human spaceflight, it does not have the expertise or experience of Russia or the United States. In spite of its short track record, China has made manned spaceflight a key objective with an eye toward international prestige and domestic political goals.