China will launch its unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 early Tuesday (China Standard Time, CST) for the country's first space docking, a major step closer to the goal of building a permanent space station around 2020.
Shenzhou 8 will take off at 5:58 a.m. CST Tuesday, Nov. 1 [4:58 p.m. CDT / 2158 GMT Monday, Oct. 31], carried by a modified model of the Long March CZ-2F rocket at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, said Wu Ping, spokeswoman of China's manned space program.
The spacecraft is due to dock with
Tiangong-1, or "Heavenly Palace," China's first space lab module within two days after the launch for the country's first docking. Tiangong-1 was sent into space on Sept. 29.
They will separate after flying together for 12 days but will carry out a second docking later, she added.
Credit: jz.chinamail.com.cn
The mission, if successful, will make China the third nation to master the technology after the United States and Russia, paving the way for the nation to place a space station into orbit around 2020.