China to Launch Manned Space Flight to Orbiting Space Module in Mid-June
Posted on June 10, 2012
The Chinese government announced that it is launching a manned space flight later this month. Discovery reports that the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and its carrier rocket are in place on the launch platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The launch center is located in northwest China.
China says it is running a series of tests of all systems and doing final prep for the mission, which is expected to take place in mid-June. China already has a space station module orbiting the earth called Tiangong-1 - or "Heavenly Palace 1." It was launched in September, 2011. The plan is for three astronauts to manually dock with the module, where they will perform various scientific experiments.
China has very ambitious space plans. The current mission is to build a Chinese space station which will allow a crew to live for several months without outside assistance. The space station is expected to be fully operational by 2020. Sky News has a brief report on the project: