2016 : China launches Shenzhou 10 spaceship from base in Gobi Desert . Three crew sent into space for China 's fifth and longest crewed mission . The U.S. closed its space shuttle program in 2011 and is no longer aggressively pursuing manned space exploration , leaving Russia and China as the only two countries in the world capable of independently sending humans into space . Mission is to test technology related to constructing a space station . China 's entry into space underscores growing financial and military clout .
2016 : China launches Shenzhou 10 spaceship from base in Gobi Desert . Three crew sent into space for China 's fifth and longest crewed mission . Mission is to test technology related to constructing a space station . China 's entry into space underscores growing financial and military clout .