On way to Heavenly Palace
Source: Xinhua |
November 2, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF of China's manned space program Chang Wanquan announced yesterday that the launch of Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft was successful.
The spacecraft was sent into its designated orbit after the blast-off at 5:58am from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwest Gobi desert, carried by an upgraded Long March-2F rocket.
It is heading for a rendezvous with Tiangong-1 - "the Heavenly Palace" - that was put into space on September 29 to attempt China's first space docking.
If successful, it will pave the way for China to operate a space station by around 2020, making the nation the world's third to do so.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang viewed the launch at the Jiuquan center. It was also observed on site by senior officials from the European Space Agency and the German Aerospace Center.
Docking is scheduled to occur within two days of the launch of Shenzhou-8, at 343 kilometers above the Earth's surface. It will return to the Earth after two docking trials.
Experiments provided by German and Chinese scientists will run during the mission, according to Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China's manned space program.
To ensure the success of the mission, Chinese space engineers have made "considerable modifications" to Shenzhou-8, compared with previous versions of the spacecraft.
Shenzhou-8, with a length of nine meters and a maximum diameter of 2.8 meters, has a liftoff weight of just over 8 tons.
"More than half of the 600 or so sets of equipment have been modified, while newly designed devices account for about 15 percent of the total," Wu said.
Modifications were aimed at giving the spacecraft automatic and manual rendezvous and docking capacities, and enhancing performance, safety and reliability, Wu said.
"After the improvements, the spacecraft will be able to connect with the target spacecraft Tiangong-1 for 180 days," she added.
Once China has mastered the technologies of rendezvous and docking, it will be equipped with the basic technologies and capacity required for building a space station, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program.
This mission will be followed by launches of spaceships Shenzhou-9 and 10 in 2012, which are also expected to dock with Tiangong-1. At least one of the two missions will be manned, according to Wu.
Crew members, who are likely to include two female astronauts, have already been selected for the possible manual space docking mission in 2012 and are being trained in manual docking skills.
The space docking tests and experiments will provide crucial experience for China's planned construction of a 60-ton permanent manned space station around 2020. At that time, Chinese astronauts are expected to operate more research projects in space.
"It will make it possible for China to carry out space exploration on a larger scale," Zhou said.
The spacecraft was sent into its designated orbit after the blast-off at 5:58am from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwest Gobi desert, carried by an upgraded Long March-2F rocket.
It is heading for a rendezvous with Tiangong-1 - "the Heavenly Palace" - that was put into space on September 29 to attempt China's first space docking.
If successful, it will pave the way for China to operate a space station by around 2020, making the nation the world's third to do so.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang viewed the launch at the Jiuquan center. It was also observed on site by senior officials from the European Space Agency and the German Aerospace Center.
Docking is scheduled to occur within two days of the launch of Shenzhou-8, at 343 kilometers above the Earth's surface. It will return to the Earth after two docking trials.
Experiments provided by German and Chinese scientists will run during the mission, according to Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China's manned space program.
To ensure the success of the mission, Chinese space engineers have made "considerable modifications" to Shenzhou-8, compared with previous versions of the spacecraft.
Shenzhou-8, with a length of nine meters and a maximum diameter of 2.8 meters, has a liftoff weight of just over 8 tons.
"More than half of the 600 or so sets of equipment have been modified, while newly designed devices account for about 15 percent of the total," Wu said.
Modifications were aimed at giving the spacecraft automatic and manual rendezvous and docking capacities, and enhancing performance, safety and reliability, Wu said.
"After the improvements, the spacecraft will be able to connect with the target spacecraft Tiangong-1 for 180 days," she added.
Once China has mastered the technologies of rendezvous and docking, it will be equipped with the basic technologies and capacity required for building a space station, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program.
This mission will be followed by launches of spaceships Shenzhou-9 and 10 in 2012, which are also expected to dock with Tiangong-1. At least one of the two missions will be manned, according to Wu.
Crew members, who are likely to include two female astronauts, have already been selected for the possible manual space docking mission in 2012 and are being trained in manual docking skills.
The space docking tests and experiments will provide crucial experience for China's planned construction of a 60-ton permanent manned space station around 2020. At that time, Chinese astronauts are expected to operate more research projects in space.
"It will make it possible for China to carry out space exploration on a larger scale," Zhou said.
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