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Summary China will launch unmanned space module Tiangong-1 and unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8 in the second half of this year for the docking.
The 8.5-ton Tiangong-1, an object spacecraft and a small-sized space lab is expected to dock with unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8, which is planned to be launched after Tiangong-1. Space docking has been widely recognized as one of the key technologies necessary for any breakthrough in any manned space project. After the scheduled first experimental space docking this year, China will launch spaceships Shenzhou IX and Shenzhou X in 2012, for the official space docking mission, in which scientific experiments are to be carried out in the manned space lab. China will have its own space station before 2020, said Qi Faren, the former chief designer of Shenzhou spaceships, adding that the country would further step up international cooperation for manned space programs and open its future space station to foreign astronauts and scientists.
