China’s fourth manned space flight ended with a jarring touchdown in Inner Mongolia after a successful flight to test docking procedures and techniques needed for building a Mir-class space station later this decade. China’s Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, carrying two men and the first Chinese woman to fly in space, returned to Earth on Friday after an ambitious flight to a prototype space station module, plunging back into the atmosphere and descending under a large parachute to a jarring touchdown in Inner Mongolia. The re-entry was carried live on Chinese television, with commentary, shots of the crew in the cramped decent module and views of the spacecraft’s fiery re-entry plume as it streaked across the sky on a steep northeasterly descent toward the landing zone Continue reading →