An employee stands on the launch pad holding the Long March II-F rocket loaded with the Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

An employee stands on the launch pad holding the Long March II-F rocket loaded with the Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft, in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu province, June 16, 2012. China will send its first woman into outer space this week, prompting a surge of national pride as the rising power takes its latest step towards putting a space station in orbit within the decade. Liu Yang, a 33-year-old fighter pilot, will join two other astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft when it lifts off from a remote Gobi Desert launch site on Saturday evening. REUTERS/Jason Lee