China's historic Shenzhou 9 mission may be over, but the nation's space program won't stay grounded for long. <\/p>\n
The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft and its three crewmembers returned to Earth Thursday at about 10 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. Friday Beijing time), wrapping up a mission that launched China's first female astronaut and featured its first-ever manned space docking. <\/p>\n
China won't rest on its laurels for long, however. The nation plans to continue its steady march into space, beginning with another manned launch in just a few months' time. <\/p>\n
Working toward a space station <\/p>\n
Shenzhou 9's chief goal was to test out technologies and techniques needed to build a space station in Earth orbit. Chinese officials have said they hope to have a 60-ton station up and running by 2020. (For comparison, the International Space Station weighs 430 tons.) [Photos: Building the International Space Station] <\/p>\n
By any measure, Shenzhou 9 the nation's fourth human spaceflight mission, after efforts in 2003, 2005 and 2008 appears to have been a big success. The spacecraft docked with the unmanned Tiangong 1 space module by remote control on June 18, and then again on June 24 while being piloted by the taikonauts (as Chinese astronauts are called). <\/p>\n
China thus became just the third nation after the United States and Russia to achieve a manned linkup of spacecraft in Earth orbit. <\/p>\n
\"The manual docking was beautifully conducted. It was very accurate and swift, \" said Liu Weibo, the official responsible for China's astronaut system, according to the nation's state-run Xinhua news service. <\/p>\n
And more manned docking tests are on the horizon. The Shenzhou 10 mission will launch more taikonauts to Tiangong 1 soon, perhaps in early 2013; Chinese space officials have said they'll firm up a date after fully examining the results of Shenzhou 9's flight and the status of Tiangong 1. <\/p>\n
China won't confine its human spaceflight activities to low-Earth orbit. The nation has said it plans to land a taikonaut on the moon in the near future, likely after its space station is up and running. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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China Set for More Manned Space Missions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" China's historic Shenzhou 9 mission may be over, but the nation's space program won't stay grounded for long. The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft and its three crewmembers returned to Earth Thursday at about 10 p.m. EDT (10 a.m Continue reading