China's space mission to conduct automatic docking

PanARMENIAN.Net - China's space mission will conduct an automatic docking Monday, June 18, as the three astronauts on board prepare to perform the nation's first manual version of the complex maneuver, state media said, according to AFP.

The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft took off from the remote Gobi desert on Saturday on China's fourth manned space mission, carrying the nation's first female astronaut into space.

The crew's main task during their 13-day mission is to carry out China's first manual space docking, a procedure that will take the country a step closer to setting up its own space station by 2020.

Shenzhou-9 ("Divine Vessel") and the Tiangong-1 ("Heavenly Palace") module already in orbit will dock automatically at 0300 GMT, and part six days later in preparation for manual docking, the Global Times daily said.

Monday will be only the second time that China has performed the highly technical procedure, which brings two vessels together in high-speed orbit. It achieved a similar docking in November last year.

If successful later in the current mission, China will become only the third country after the United States and Russia to complete a manual docking.