'America the Beautiful' accompanies China launch

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN

The Associated Press

BEIJING — China's state broadcaster isn't saying why the station ran the music to "America the Beautiful" during the gala live broadcast of the country's latest space launch.

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a Long March-2FT1 carrier rocket loaded with Tiangong-1 unmanned space lab module blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011. China launched the experimental module to lay the groundwork for a future space station on Thursday, underscoring its ambitions to become a major space power. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Wang Jianmin) NO SALES

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a Long March-2FT1 carrier rocket loaded with Tiangong-1 unmanned space lab module blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011. China launched the experimental module to lay the groundwork for a future space station on Thursday, underscoring its ambitions to become a major space power. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Wang Jianmin) NO SALES

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Strains of the famed American patriotic tune rang out following the launch of the Tiang Gong-1 experimental space station module late Thursday night.

It wasn't clear why the music had been picked or whether CCTV producers were aware of the origins of the song, whose lyrics include the lines "America! America! God shed His grace on thee."

An operator answering phones at CCTV's Beijing headquarters on Friday said no spokesman was available and calls to the station's international affairs department rang unanswered.

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September 30, 2011 03:01 AM EDT

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