China announced that it will launch a new manned space mission between June and August 2013. Three taikonauts will comprise the crew. “The 3 astronauts will stay in orbit for 15 days, including 12 days when they will work inside the coupled complex of the Shenzhou-10 and Tiangong-1,” said Zhou Jianping, the head designer of China’s manned space program The crew will [...]
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Shenzhou-10 to Fly in June 2013
On November 10, the deputy commander-in-chief of China’s manned space program indicated the timing for the country’s next crewed launch. Niu Hongguang told China National Radio that the flight of Shenzhou-10 would take place in June 2013. Hongguang sees the upcoming mission as a precursor to construction of a space lab and a space station. Shenzou-10 will supply the prototype space lab Tiangong-1 and [...]
China to Land on Moon in 2013
On July 30, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that the country will launch its third lunar probe in 2013. Unlike the prior two probes, this one is intended to land on the lunar surface. China’s space program has been developing rapidly. Just this week, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) performed a a test fire of its new heavy [...]
Taikonauts Feeling Good Following Historic Mission
The crew of Shenzhou-9, including China’s first female taikonaut, Liu Yang, had their first public appearance on Friday 13 July, 2012, since returning to Earth. The crew had performed the first Chinese manned space-docking mission, and the first visit of a crew to the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module. Following the 13-day space mission and two week rehabilitation, the trio [...]
Shenzhou-9 Returns Safely to Earth
On June 29, the three member Shenzhou-9 crew landed in inner Mongolia. Other than a ground roll on contact that turned the capsule upside down, the operation went smoothly. The landing wrapped up a highly successful 13 day mission in which the taikonauts docked with and inhabited the Chinese space lab Tiangong-1. All crew members were reported to be in [...]
Shenzhou-9 Continues Its Firsts
Following a successful dock with and boarding of Chinese space lab Tiangong-1, the Shenzhou-9 crew continue to follow through on their mission objectives. Tuesday’s “first” for the taikonauts was the receipt of space email from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The three crew members are operating on Beijing time, but take it in turn to sleep so one crew member [...]
Taikonauts Aboard Space Lab After Successful Docking
Shenzhou-9‘s three taikonauts performed a successful automated docking procedure with space lab Tiangong-1 on Monday, June 18. The crew sent live video feed back to Earth as they docked with, then boarded, the space station. The docking procedure, which was identical to that conducted by the unmanned Shenzhou-8 in 2011, was completed in 8 minutes. Three hours later the crew, led by [...]
X-37B’s Return to Earth Steals Some of Shenzhou-9′s Thunder
Emerging from the shadow of Shenzhou-9′s triumphant launch, the USAF X-37B designated Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV)-2 returned to Earth on Saturday, June 16th after 468 days 13 hours and 2 minutes on a voyage that orbited the Earth more than 7,000 times performing a classified mission. OTV-2 received the command from its ground controller to return and initiated an autonomous [...]
Shenzhou-9 Has a Crew and Is Ready for Launch
Shenzhou-9 has entered the final phase of preparation for a June 16 launch after successfully completing a full system test on June 13. “The drill’s results met our expectations”, said Niu Hongguang, China’s manned space program commander in chief, to the Xinhua news agency. The spacecraft also has a crew – finally announced on June 15 after months of [...]
Shenzhou-9 Launch May Occur in June
Despite prior reports that the Shenzhou-9 mission was to be delayed, it now seems that a June launch could be in the works, carrying a crew of three Chinese taikonauts to space for the first manned docking with the Chinese space station Tiangong-1. In February, the China Manned Space Engineering (CMSE) agency announced that the next Shenzhou would launch between [...]
