The same cargo flew on Russian and American missions as well

Sep 30, 2011 08:23 GMT  ·  By
IAF president Berndt Feuerbacher and Shenzhou 7 taikonaut Zhai Zhigang are seen here holding one of 300 flags currently aboard the Tiangong 1 spacecraft
   IAF president Berndt Feuerbacher and Shenzhou 7 taikonaut Zhai Zhigang are seen here holding one of 300 flags currently aboard the Tiangong 1 spacecraft

As the Tiangong 1 unmanned spacecraft was soaring to the skies yesterday, September 29, locked safely away in its payload compartment were 300 flags, belonging to numerous countries and organizations. This is not the first time this payload has flown to space.

Both the United States and the Russian Federation carried these flags to space when their spacecraft managed to access Earth's orbit. These two nations preceded China in reaching space, and so it has become tradition for each new country that manages to reach space to carry them aboard.

This commemorative cargo is meant to symbolize the connections developing between international space agencies belonging to several countries. It also marks the first time the China National Space Administration (CNSA) attempts to test orbital docking maneuvers.

The Asian nation plans to conduct a number of such tests over the next two years. Tiangong 1 will be joined in orbit by the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft, which is based on the Russian Soyuz design.

The two will continuously dock and undock from each other, providing critical telemetry data to Chinese mission controllers. By 2020, China plans to have its own space station ready, Space reports.

Tiangong 1, an 8.5-ton (17,000-pound) spacecraft, launched yesterday from the Jiuquan Satellite Space Center in the Gobi desert, northwestern China. It was delivered to orbit by a Long March 2F delivery system, which took off at around 9:16 local time (1316 GMT).

Shenzhou-8 will join it in orbit this November, if everything goes according to CNSA plans. The first docking to be performed between these spacecraft will represent another monumental step forward for the country's space program, which began in 2003.

CNSA achieved its first spacewalk in 2008, when Shenzhou-7 taikonaut Zhai Zhigang stepped outside its spacecraft for the first time in Chinese history. At the 2011 Paris Air Show, he was handed the 300 yellow and blue flags by the president of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).

Berndt Feuerbacher says that these flags are meant as a celebration of the 60 years the IAF has spent servicing international space objectives. The organization represents a worldwide coalition of space agencies actively involved in exploring Earth's orbit and beyond.

According to a IAF statement, the flags should fly on “all types of active manned spacecrafts in the world,” to signify true cooperation, despite intricacies and areas where space agencies and their governments don't necessarily see eye to eye.