[size="3"][url="http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article2497461.ece?homepage=true"]China launches Tiangong-1 for space station[/url] : The Hindu, September 29, 2011
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[size="3"] The box car-sized Tiangong-1 module was shot into space from the Jiuquan launch centre on the edge of the Gobi Desert aboard a Long March-2FT1 rocket. [/size]
[size="3"] After moving it into orbit, China plans to launch an unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft to practice docking maneuvers with the module, possibly within the next few weeks. Two more missions, at least one of them manned, are to meet up with it next year for further practice, with astronauts staying for up to one month. [/size]
[size="3"] The 8.5-ton module, whose name translates as ââ¬ÅHeavenly Palace-1,ââ¬Â is to stay aloft for two years, after which two other experimental modules are to be launched for additional tests before the actual station is launched in three sections between 2020 and 2022. [/size]
[size="3"] ââ¬ÅThis is a significant test. Weââ¬â¢ve never done such a thing before,ââ¬Â Lu Jinrong, the launch centreââ¬â¢s chief engineer, was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. [/size]
[size="3"] The space station, which is yet to be formally named, is the most ambitious project in Chinaââ¬â¢s exploration of space.[/size]
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Quote:[floatleft][size="3"]China launched an experimental module to lay the groundwork for a future space station on Thursday, underscoring its ambitions to become a major space power. [/size][size="2"]
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a Long March-2FT1 carrier rocket loaded with Tiangong
-1 unmanned space lab module blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in
northwest China's Gansu Province, on Thursday. Photo: AP[/size][/floatleft][/size]
[size="3"] The box car-sized Tiangong-1 module was shot into space from the Jiuquan launch centre on the edge of the Gobi Desert aboard a Long March-2FT1 rocket. [/size]
[size="3"] After moving it into orbit, China plans to launch an unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft to practice docking maneuvers with the module, possibly within the next few weeks. Two more missions, at least one of them manned, are to meet up with it next year for further practice, with astronauts staying for up to one month. [/size]
[size="3"] The 8.5-ton module, whose name translates as ââ¬ÅHeavenly Palace-1,ââ¬Â is to stay aloft for two years, after which two other experimental modules are to be launched for additional tests before the actual station is launched in three sections between 2020 and 2022. [/size]
[size="3"] ââ¬ÅThis is a significant test. Weââ¬â¢ve never done such a thing before,ââ¬Â Lu Jinrong, the launch centreââ¬â¢s chief engineer, was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency. [/size]
[size="3"] The space station, which is yet to be formally named, is the most ambitious project in Chinaââ¬â¢s exploration of space.[/size]
[size="3"]
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