China Announces 1st Space Docking Mission Complete Success
Xinhua News Agency, November 17, 2011 Adjust font size:
Commander-in-chief of China's manned space program Chang Wanquan announced Thursday evening that the nation's first-ever space rendezvous and docking mission was a complete success.
Unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8 landed safely by parachute Thursday evening in China's northern grasslands.
Launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Nov. 1, Shenzhou-8 successfully rendezvoused and docked twice with the Tiangong-1 space lab module, which was launched from the same site on Sept. 29.
The safe return of Shenzhou-8 to Earth marked the end of the 49-day space docking mission, which will pave the way for China's establishment of a manned space station around 2020.
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The re-entry capsule of Shenzhou-8 spacecraft is found at a landing site located in Siziwang Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 17, 2011. The Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft returned to Earth Thursday evening after completing the country's first docking mission with target orbiter Tiangong-1. [Xinhua] |
