UPDATE: The launch went off without a hitch at 6:37 am EDT. Shenzhou-9 is now in orbit. The crew is scheduled to dock with Tiangong-1 on Monday.

ORIGINAL STORY: Countdown continues for launch of Shenzhou-9 at 6:37 am Eastern Daylight time (10:37 GMT, 18:37 Beijing time) this morning, June 16, 2012. This is the first Chinese crew to go to a space station and the first to include a woman astronaut, Liu Yang. Live launch coverage is on China’s English-language website CCTV. Or follow us on Twitter: @SpcPlcyOnline.

The crew’s mission is to rendezvous and dock with the Tiangong-1 space station, which was launched in September 2011. The mission is scheduled to last 10-12 days.

This is China’s fourth crewed spaceflight. Five other Shenzhou missions (Shenzhou 1-4, Shenzhou-8) were automated tests.