Space docking is next step as rocket set to go
By Wang Qingchu |
November 1, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S unmanned spaceship Shenzhou-8 was scheduled to have been launched at 5:58am today and is expected to dock with China's first space lab module Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace-1, which was sent into orbit in late September.
The Shenzhou-8 will attempt China's first rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1, paving the way for China to operate a permanent space station around 2020 and making it the world's third country to do so, Wu Ping, a spokeswoman for China's manned space program, said at a press conference yesterday.
Fuel has been added yesterday to the Long March 2F rocket, which will carry the Shenzhou-8 into orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province.
Space rendezvous and docking between orbiters is a difficult technology and highly risky, managed previously only by the United States and Russia. Thus "considerable modifications" to previous versions of China's unmanned spacecraft have been done to enable the Shenzhou-8 to complete the task, Wu said at the Jiuquan launch facility.
"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," she said.
The modifications were mainly aimed at arming the spacecraft with automatic and manual rendezvous and docking capacities, and to enhance the vehicle's performance, safety and reliability, she said.
There were collisions between space vehicles in the early days of docking attempts, and recent docking missions involving the International Space Station did not always run smoothly, Wu noted.
Nearly 100 contingency plans have been prepared and exercised to address problems that may occur during the mission, Wu said, adding that all people involved in the mission are confident about a successful docking.
Numerous simulated tests have been done on the ground, she said.
The Shenzhou-8 will be able to connect with the target orbiter Tiangong-1 for 180 days. Although the Shenzhou-8 is unmanned, it is equipped with devices recording images and mechanical parameters 鈥 vital to future manned missions. Other items including space food, medicine and appliances for scientific experiments will also be sent into orbit for future use in the permanent space station.
China plans to fulfill its first ever manual space docking by 2012, probably with women astronauts, Wu said. The target orbiter Tiangong-1 was designed for multiple dockings, and next year two more vehicles, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10, are scheduled to launch. At least one will carry astronauts.
Chinese and German scientists will conduct 17 space experiments on life science on the Shenzhou-8. "The experiments are of great significance in promoting the study and development of microgravity science and space life science," Wu said.
China has cooperated with Russia and Germany as well as aerospace organizations since the nation started its manned space program in 1992.
The Shenzhou-8 will attempt China's first rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1, paving the way for China to operate a permanent space station around 2020 and making it the world's third country to do so, Wu Ping, a spokeswoman for China's manned space program, said at a press conference yesterday.
Fuel has been added yesterday to the Long March 2F rocket, which will carry the Shenzhou-8 into orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province.
Space rendezvous and docking between orbiters is a difficult technology and highly risky, managed previously only by the United States and Russia. Thus "considerable modifications" to previous versions of China's unmanned spacecraft have been done to enable the Shenzhou-8 to complete the task, Wu said at the Jiuquan launch facility.
"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," she said.
The modifications were mainly aimed at arming the spacecraft with automatic and manual rendezvous and docking capacities, and to enhance the vehicle's performance, safety and reliability, she said.
There were collisions between space vehicles in the early days of docking attempts, and recent docking missions involving the International Space Station did not always run smoothly, Wu noted.
Nearly 100 contingency plans have been prepared and exercised to address problems that may occur during the mission, Wu said, adding that all people involved in the mission are confident about a successful docking.
Numerous simulated tests have been done on the ground, she said.
The Shenzhou-8 will be able to connect with the target orbiter Tiangong-1 for 180 days. Although the Shenzhou-8 is unmanned, it is equipped with devices recording images and mechanical parameters 鈥 vital to future manned missions. Other items including space food, medicine and appliances for scientific experiments will also be sent into orbit for future use in the permanent space station.
China plans to fulfill its first ever manual space docking by 2012, probably with women astronauts, Wu said. The target orbiter Tiangong-1 was designed for multiple dockings, and next year two more vehicles, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10, are scheduled to launch. At least one will carry astronauts.
Chinese and German scientists will conduct 17 space experiments on life science on the Shenzhou-8. "The experiments are of great significance in promoting the study and development of microgravity science and space life science," Wu said.
China has cooperated with Russia and Germany as well as aerospace organizations since the nation started its manned space program in 1992.
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