The latest Chinese space mission to low-Earth orbit is so far a big success for the nation. A Chinese space official, on Monday, announced that the crew of the spacecraft has successfully carried out a manned docking with a prototype space module. The manual docking represents a milestone for the country's space program to build a space station around 2020, mentioned the officials in a statement.
"We are one step closer to our destination of constructing a future space station," said an official with China's space program. "This is the first successful crew transportation mission for China."
The Shenzhou 9 is carrying three-person crew, which includes Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and China's first woman in space Liu Yang.
Almost three hours after docking with the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1 module, mission commander Jing Haipeng, wearing blue jumpsuit, entered the module. He was then followed by colleagues Liu Wang and Liu Yang which was shown on a Live television broadcast.
"The real test will be the manual docking attempt six days later," according to Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space program. "A manual docking, if successful, will demonstrate the country's grasp of essential space rendezvous and docking know-how."
"It will mean China is fully capable of transferring human and cargo to an orbiter in space," Zhou said.
This is the first time for China to transfer astronauts between two orbiting craft. And, with this event, China becomes the third country after USA and Russia to successfully launch a manned mission to space. The state television is showing the pictures live.
Tiangong, the 8.5-tonne space lab module, was launched last September as part of the government's exploratory program for a fully functional space lab and has been traveling around Earth for 263 days.
The Chinese media has reported that during the 13-day mission, the astronauts will work and sleep aboard Tiangong 1.
In a statement released Monday, Liu, China's first woman astronaut, said it was an honor and she hoped it would inspire millions of Chinese women.
"I feel honored to fly into space on behalf of hundreds of millions of Chinese females," Liu said.
