Post by swamprat on Feb 17, 2012 18:45:54 GMT -6
China to Launch 3 Astronauts to Space Laboratory by August
by Tariq Malik, SPACE.com Managing Editor
Date: 17 February 2012
China's next space mission will launch three astronauts to a prototype space station module orbiting high above Earth, possibly in June, according to state media reports.
The mission is slated to launch sometime between June and August atop a Long March 2F rocket, the Xinhua news agency reported Friday (Feb. 17). The mission, which will be China's fourth manned spaceflight, will send a crew into orbit aboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft to rendezvous with the country's prototype space station module Tiangong 1.
China launched the Tiangong 1 space lab into orbit in September 2011. An unmanned space docking test followed soon after, with the robotic Shenzhou 8 spacecraft successfully linking up with the orbital space lab in November.
Unlike the Shenzhou 8 mission, the manned Shenzhou 9 flight will demonstrate a manual space docking, according to Xinhua. The three-person crew will then stay aboard to live, work and perform science experiments.
China's manned spaceflight program has also stated plans to launch another mission, called Shenzhou 10, to Tiangong 1 this year. Chinese space officials have also hinted that China's first female astronaut may fly on one of the missions to Tiangong 1.
The 8.5-metric-ton Tiangong 1 laboratory module is a miniature space station that is 11 feet (3.4 meters) wide and 34 feet (10.4 m) long. It uses large solar panels to generate power.
China plans to build a larger, 60-ton space station by 2020 and fly a manned mission to the moon sometime after that.
www.space.com/14612-china-manned-space-mission-shenzhou-9.html
by Tariq Malik, SPACE.com Managing Editor
Date: 17 February 2012
China's next space mission will launch three astronauts to a prototype space station module orbiting high above Earth, possibly in June, according to state media reports.
The mission is slated to launch sometime between June and August atop a Long March 2F rocket, the Xinhua news agency reported Friday (Feb. 17). The mission, which will be China's fourth manned spaceflight, will send a crew into orbit aboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft to rendezvous with the country's prototype space station module Tiangong 1.
China launched the Tiangong 1 space lab into orbit in September 2011. An unmanned space docking test followed soon after, with the robotic Shenzhou 8 spacecraft successfully linking up with the orbital space lab in November.
Unlike the Shenzhou 8 mission, the manned Shenzhou 9 flight will demonstrate a manual space docking, according to Xinhua. The three-person crew will then stay aboard to live, work and perform science experiments.
China's manned spaceflight program has also stated plans to launch another mission, called Shenzhou 10, to Tiangong 1 this year. Chinese space officials have also hinted that China's first female astronaut may fly on one of the missions to Tiangong 1.
The 8.5-metric-ton Tiangong 1 laboratory module is a miniature space station that is 11 feet (3.4 meters) wide and 34 feet (10.4 m) long. It uses large solar panels to generate power.
China plans to build a larger, 60-ton space station by 2020 and fly a manned mission to the moon sometime after that.
www.space.com/14612-china-manned-space-mission-shenzhou-9.html