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Chinese space module gets first-ever
residents
Monday June 18, 2012 06:54:05 PM,
IANS
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Beijing: Three
Chinese -- including the country's first woman astronaut -- Monday
became the "first tenants" of the Tiangong-1 space module after
China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou-9 successfully docked
with the orbiter.
The Beijing Aerospace Control Centre said the procedure began with
the Shenzhou-9 moving to a location 52 km away from the
Tiangong-1. The spacecraft then slowly drifted toward the
Tiangong-1 before making contact with the module at 2.07 p.m.
China time.
The 8.5-tonne space module has been going around the earth for 263
days since it was launched in September 2011.
The docking was completed in less than eight minutes, Xinhua
reported.
Shenzhou-9, atop the Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off
from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre Saturday.
The first Chinese woman in space, 33-year-old Liu Yang, is joined
by commanding officer Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang.
Last year, China successfully carried out the automated rendezvous
and docking between the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft and
Tiangong-1.
The three astronauts Monday floated into the cabin of the orbiting
module, becoming the first from their country to enter an orbiter
in space.
Live TV broadcast showed the blue uniform-clad astronauts waving
to the camera inside the Tiangong-1 after they entered the cabin.
They became the first tenants in the 15-cubic-metre cabin of the
Tiangong-1 also known as "Heavenly Palace".
"The real test will be the manual docking attempt six days later,"
said Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space
programme.
"A manual docking, if successful, will demonstrate the country's
grasp of essential space rendezvous and docking knowhow," he said.
"It will mean China is fully capable of transferring humans and
cargo to an orbiter in space," Zhou said.
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