Scientists invent ‘eye’ for docking in space
Print Edition
CHINESE scientists have improved the technology needed to carry out docking between vessels in space with the development of an “eye” guidance system that will make the procedure more efficient and safer, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.
Advancing China’s space program has been set as a priority, with President Xi Jinping calling for China to establish itself as a space power.
In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory, the Tiangong 1.
The new guidance system will be used for a second orbiting space lab, the Tiangong 2, the Chang’e 5 lunar probe, and eventually a planned permanently manned space station, the China Academy of Space Technology was cited as saying.
Tiangong 2 is set to launch next year, while Chang’e 5 will collect samples from the moon about 2017, and a manned space station is planned for about 2022.
“Good ‘eyesight’ is crucial for one spacecraft chasing another for hundreds of thousands of kilometers to achieve a perfect rendezvous and docking,” said designer Gong Dezhu.
China’s space program still lags those of the United States and Russia despite considerable advances.
It must still master launching cargo and fuel via space freighters, and recycling air and water for extended manned missions.
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