14 DAY TRIAL // The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is getting ready to conduct the first manned space docking attempt in its history. Three astronauts will launch to space in a few days, with the express purpose of having their spacecraft meet up with an unmanned vehicle already in space.
The Tiangong-1 module was launched to space last year. Its mission is to act as a rendezvous point for other spacecraft. This was made obvious when it successfully docked with the Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, back in 2011. The process was entirely automated.
Now, CNSA wants to conduct its first manned docking procedure. Three astronauts will launch aboard the Shenzhou 9 space capsule, and then guide their spacecraft to Tiangong-1's location. They will then attempt to dock the two vehicles.
If successful, this will be a critical milestone for the Chinese space program, as the country is moving towards building its own, 60-ton space station, by 2020. The achievements the CNSA was capable of over the past 9 years are truly remarkable, analysts comment.
The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft will take off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, aboard a Long March 2F delivery system. An exact launch date was not provided by authorities or CNSA representatives, Space reports.
In a press conference held on June 9, the chief designer of the Chinese manned space program, Zhou Jianping, said that the “Shenzhou 9 will perform our country's first manned space docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong 1 space lab module.”
He made the statement while he was accompanying the Long March rocket to its Jiuquan launch pad. This effort “means China's spacecraft will become a genuine manned shuttle tool between space and Earth. It can send human beings to space stations or space labs,” Zhou told the Xinhua news agency.
“This will be a significant step in China's manned space flight history,” the official went on to say. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSE) translated the statement, and made it available worldwide.
In addition to conducting orbital docking maneuvers and space station construction efforts, China is also aiming to have one of its astronauts land on the Moon by the end of the decade. Given the amount of investments pouring into CNSA, the likelihood of that happening is very high.