China's unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft lifted off at 5:58 a.m. China Standard Time on Tuesday, Nov. 1 [4:58 p.m. CDT / 2158 GMT Oct. 31] from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern desert area.
The spacecraft, carried by a modified Long March-2F carrier rocket, is expected to dock with
Tiangong-1 space lab module that was sent into space on Sept. 29.
The rendezvous and docking maneuver will take place within two days of the launch of Shenzhou 8, and the practice will build up experience for further docking with Shenzhou 9 and 10 in 2012 and the building of a permanent manned space station around 2020.
[b]Launch declared a success[/b]
The commander-in-chief of China's manned space program Chang Wanquan announced that the launch of Shenzhou 8 unmanned spacecraft was successful.
The spacecraft was successfully sent into the designated orbit.
Credit: Xinhua
The launch was attended by Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang. It was also witnessed from the launch site by senior officials from the European Space Agency and the German Aerospace Center.