tiangong-1 :(Heavenly Palace-1) 1st china's unmanned space lab

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*Tiangong means Heavenly Palace in English.

The Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) unmanned space lab prototype is scheduled to blast off in early September as a test-bed for experiments related to space rendezvous. The first Chinese space lab prototype Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) and its launch vehicle Long March-2F rocket are now being assembled in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, official media reports here said.

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Tiangong-1 is an eight-ton-class space lab prototype with a cylinder-shaped body and two docking ports on its ends. Its diametre is wider than the Shenzhou series spacecraft.
The Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft to be launched in future will dock with the Tiangong-1 during its two-year journey. The Shenzhou-8 will be put into orbit following the launch of the Tiangong-1 at an unknown date, state-run ”Global Times” reported today.
Both the Tiangong-1 and Shengzhou 8 are unmanned.  “The Shenzhou-9 and 10 will be piloted if the rendezvous result of the Shenzhou-8 and Tiangong-1 turn out well,” an official said. Space docking technology is key for building a space station and docking failures can have catastrophic consequences, he said. China has embarked on an ambitious space programme which includes creating a new satellite system to rival GPS, a second moon mission to land a rover as a follow up to its successful lunar probe, Chang”e-II.
The programme suffered a setback on August 9 when its newly launched satellite failed to enter the designated orbit due to a malfunction of the rocket. It was the first time the Long March II-C rocket, regarded as the trusted war horse of Chinese space programme has failed after 35 successful launches and only second time that China had to abort a satellite since 1996 after it developed its space applications modelled on the Russian technology.
According to the official website of the China Manned Space Engineering Project, Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-3 space labs will be launched before 2016. .

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