China will send a new manned spacecraft to its orbiting space station Tiangong-1 sometime this summer, according to an official statement released newly by the country's manned space program.

The statement released on Thursday confirmed that three Chinese astronauts would be sent into the space sometime between June and August.

The three astraunouts will board the Shenzhou-10 spacecraft, which will dock with the country's orbiting lab module.

The official statement also stated that the objectives of the upcoming mission would include further evaluating the performance of the docking system, the capabilities in supporting life & work, and the capabilities of astronauts in the space.

China's manned space program added in the statement the new mission would mark the country's first formal application of the manned space transportation system, after years of testing.

In addition to tests on key technologies, including repairing the space lab, the research will also help in determining astronauts' capabilities to adapt to the space environment.

The space lab Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011. Late in November 2011, it was docked with the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft, which an unmanned spacecraft. In June last year, it was again docked with a manned called Shenzhou-9.

China aims to build its own space station by around the year 2020.