China has successfully launched the Shenzhou 8, an unmanned version of a spacecraft that has carried human crews into low Earth orbit in three previous flights. The plan is for the latest Shenzhou to rendezvous and dock with the Tiangong-1 module.
What is the Tiangong-1?
Tiangong-1 is a prototype for a space station module, though it is not planned to be part of any future Chinese space station. It was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on Sept. 29 and placed in an approximately 345-by-334 kilometer orbit. Its exact dimensions are unknown, but it has a mass of about 8,500 kilograms. Tiangong-1 contains a payload containing Earth imaging sensors, crystal growth experiments for future Chinese astronauts, and a group of instruments for detecting and analyzing solar energetic particles, atmospheric chemistry and physics, and ionospheric disturbances.
What is the mission of the Shenzhou 8?
Shenzhou 8 will test techniques for automatic rendezvous and docking, something that the Chinese must master if they are to continue to have a manned space program. The goal is for the Shenzhou to dock with the Tiangong-1 on Thursday. The two space craft will fly in tandem for 12 days, then undock, then dock again, before undocking the second time and returning to the Earth. The Shenzhou 8 contains a Russian built docking collar
Will there be other missions to the Tiangong-1?
China is planning at least two more missions, the Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10, one of which will be manned. The manned mission would involve a crew camping out in the Tiangong-1, running experiments and performing observations, basically practicing running a space station. One of the crew may be China's first female astronaut.
What about China's planned manned space station?
The first laboratory module, if all goes well, will be launched in 2016, with a completion by 2020. The Chinese space station will consist of several modules, as well as a Shenzhou and a cargo ship, and will mass 60 metric tons, about half that of the Russian space station Mir. It is unknown yet whether the Chinese intend their space station to be permanently manned, as with the Mir and the International Space Station, or host periodic crews, as with the Soviet Saylut and the American Skylab.
Why is China conducting its manned space program?
China's leaders have determined that in order to be considered a super power, it must have a space program. Conducting manned operations in space not only garners prestige but also enables the development of technologies that will have both civilian and military use. China plans to use space to directly challenge the United States, which it considers its main rival.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times and The Weekly Standard.
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