Shenzhou 9
Encyclopedia
Shenzhou 9 is a planned, probably manned flight of China
's Shenzhou program
that is scheduled for launch in March or April 2012, following the unmanned Shenzhou 8
mission in 2011. The aim of the mission will be to perform a docking with the Tiangong 1
(an unmanned space laboratory module
). This mission will be followed by manned Shenzhou 10
which will be launched in 2012 as well.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
's Shenzhou program
Shenzhou program
The Shenzhou program is a manned spaceflight initiative by the People's Republic of China. The program put the first Chinese citizen, Yang Liwei, into orbit on 15 October 2003....
that is scheduled for launch in March or April 2012, following the unmanned Shenzhou 8
Shenzhou 8
Shenzhou 8 was an unmanned flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched on October 31, 2011 UTC, or November 1 in China, by a modified Long March 2F rocket which lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center....
mission in 2011. The aim of the mission will be to perform a docking with the Tiangong 1
Tiangong 1
Tiangong-1 is a Chinese space laboratory module, and is an experimental testbed to demonstrate the rendezvous and docking capabilities needed to support a space station complex. Launched unmanned aboard a Long March 2F/G rocket on 29 September 2011, it is part of the Tiangong program, which aims...
(an unmanned space laboratory module
Project 921-2
Tiangong is a space station program of the People's Republic of China, with the goal of creating a third generation space station, comparable to MIR. This program is autonomous and unconnected to any other international space-active countries...
). This mission will be followed by manned Shenzhou 10
Shenzhou 10
Shenzhou 10 is a planned manned spaceflight of China's Shenzhou program that is scheduled for launch in 2012. This conventional Shenzhou will carry a crew of three astronauts...
which will be launched in 2012 as well.