BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhuanet) -- The Shenzhou-10 is soon to complete its 15-day journey in space. Its mission marks China’s first application-orientated space flight since the country’s manned space program began in 1992.
The Shenzhou-10 has docked with the orbiting space module Tiangong-1 twice, by both automatic and manual operation. And China’s first space teacher has given lessons to teenage students. The mission marks a milestone in China’s space exploration.
The Shenzhou-10 was launched on June the 11th, from northwest China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
China’s fifth manned spacecraft has three astronauts on board.
Veteran astronaut Nie Haisheng is the mission commander. He had earlier participated in the Shenzhou-6 mission in 2005.
Zhang Xiaoguang assisted Nie as pilot. He also served as emergency back-up for the captain.
Wang Yaping is China’s second female astronaut. She was selected for the team in 2010.
On June the 13th, the Shenzhou-10 automatically docked with the Tiangong-1 space module.
The astronauts entered Tiangong-1 to conduct scientific and technical experiments to gain experience for a future space station.
A week later, Wang Yaping became China’s first teacher in space, broadcasting a lesson to eager students from 340 kilometers above the Earth.
Wang demonstrated experiments of weight and mass, and the effects of surface tension on liquids in a zero-gravity environment, as she interacted with students on earth.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
More than 60 million students and teachers across China watched the live broadcast.
On June the 23rd came a manual docking procedure.
Nie Haisheng piloted the spacecraft, while the other two monitored the instruments and flight path.
On June the 25th, Shenzhou-10 flew around Tiangong-1 and docked with the module.
This marked the success of China’s first such flying-around and docking test.
China is the third country after the US and Russia to acquire the technologies and skills necessary for space rendezvous and docking procedures, as well as to supply manpower and material for an orbiting module via different docking methods.
The Tiangong-1 space module has been in orbit for more than 600 days. It will remain in service for another three months.
The module is considered the first step in building a permanent space station, which the country aims to do by 2020.
With 10 astronauts and six spacecraft launched in a decade, China is speeding towards achieving that out of this world dream.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
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