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China launches Docking Demonstration Mission
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Working toward its final goal of manned Space Station Operations, China has launched an unmanned Mission to demonstrate the capability of docking two vehicles in space. A Long March 2F Rocket blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 5:58:07pm EDT on October 31, 2011. It was 5:58am local time on November 1 at the launch site when the Rocket soared to life and blasted off from its launch pad.
Photo: CCTV
Operations leading up to the launch were flawless - according to Chinese sources. The Long March 2F Rocket was rolled to the Launch Pad on Wednesday, October 28 and its launch pad preparations phase began. The space capsule – Shenzhou 8 – is similar to spacecraft that will launch humans into space and featured a launch abort system. The Rocket is also certified to launch manned missions, making this mission a full dress rehearsal of a manned flight. Fueling of the rocket was completed earlier in the day. During the final hour leading up to liftoff, the service structures were retracted and final configurations were made for an on-time launch. Ascent performance of the Rocket was nominal. Solar array deployment was completed as well and the launcher's mission was declared a success.
The unmanned Shenzhou 8 Capsule is now in orbit and gearing up for the first docking test ever conducted by China. Tiangong 1 – the space station module that will be the target for Shenzhou 8 has been launched on September 29 and has been in orbit getting ready for the first visiting vehicle. Docking is expected two days into the mission at an altitude of 343Km above Earth. When that test has been completed successfully, the two spacecraft will remain docked for 12 days. At that time into the mission, Shenzhou 8 will undock and perform several separation maneuvers. A second docking test will be conducted at an appropriate time in the mission which has not been specified yet. When the mission is complete, Shenzhou 8’s Re-Entry Module will return to Earth for a safe landing and Tiangong 1 will go back to an altitude of 350Km where it will wait for the next docking.
Shenzhou 8 is also carrying some science experiments. 17 Experiments in the fields of biology and medicine are flying on this mission. Those research payloads were developed by German Scientists in cooperation with Chinese Science Teams. This is the first collaboration of the Chinese Space Agency with another nation. SIMBOX is the name of the payload that houses all of the experiments. It exposes plants, bacteria and human cancer cells to the space environment for the duration of the mission of about 3 weeks. The experiment payload will come back to Earth inside the Re-Entry Module that will return to Earth.
If successful, this mission will set the stage for the Flights of Shenzhou 9 and 10 that will also target Tiangong 1. Those missions are expected to be manned flights to the small space module and feature basic science operations and research. The launch of Shenzhou 9 is expected in 2012. After these two missions, Tiangong 1’s Flight will come to an end and China will work to launch Tiangong 2 and 3 for more ambititous space station rehearsal missions leading up to the launch of China’s first large station by the year 2020.
[Earlier Story on the Launch of Tiangong 1]
The unmanned Shenzhou 8 Capsule is now in orbit and gearing up for the first docking test ever conducted by China. Tiangong 1 – the space station module that will be the target for Shenzhou 8 has been launched on September 29 and has been in orbit getting ready for the first visiting vehicle. Docking is expected two days into the mission at an altitude of 343Km above Earth. When that test has been completed successfully, the two spacecraft will remain docked for 12 days. At that time into the mission, Shenzhou 8 will undock and perform several separation maneuvers. A second docking test will be conducted at an appropriate time in the mission which has not been specified yet. When the mission is complete, Shenzhou 8’s Re-Entry Module will return to Earth for a safe landing and Tiangong 1 will go back to an altitude of 350Km where it will wait for the next docking.
Shenzhou 8 is also carrying some science experiments. 17 Experiments in the fields of biology and medicine are flying on this mission. Those research payloads were developed by German Scientists in cooperation with Chinese Science Teams. This is the first collaboration of the Chinese Space Agency with another nation. SIMBOX is the name of the payload that houses all of the experiments. It exposes plants, bacteria and human cancer cells to the space environment for the duration of the mission of about 3 weeks. The experiment payload will come back to Earth inside the Re-Entry Module that will return to Earth.
If successful, this mission will set the stage for the Flights of Shenzhou 9 and 10 that will also target Tiangong 1. Those missions are expected to be manned flights to the small space module and feature basic science operations and research. The launch of Shenzhou 9 is expected in 2012. After these two missions, Tiangong 1’s Flight will come to an end and China will work to launch Tiangong 2 and 3 for more ambititous space station rehearsal missions leading up to the launch of China’s first large station by the year 2020.
[Earlier Story on the Launch of Tiangong 1]
Launch Video
