Wednesday, April 7, 2010 as of 11:14 AM ET
The Chinese space station (CSS) is a planned artificial satellite to be placed in low earth orbit. Built and launched entirely by the People's Republic of China (PRC), it shall combine indigenous designs with international compatibility.
Read More at Wikipedia ›China's state-run news outlets report that preparations of the country's first space station module, called Tiangong-1, are in full swing for a launch in the second half of this year and will be followed by an unpiloted spacecraft.
The spacecraft twosome, the station module and China's Shenzhou 8 vehicle, will mark the country's first round of orbital rendezvous and docking tests – viewed as a springboard to larger space adventures. A Long March 2F rocket is the booster of choice for the individual launches, according to reports by China's Xinhua news agency.Click here to view photos of China's Space Station.According to state media reports, the Tiangong-1 space station module is outfitted with a docking port on its front and rear ends. It will tip the scales at roughly 8 1/2 tons and purportedly will have a two-year lifetime in Earth orbit. Next year, China's Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 missions, each carrying astronauts, are expected to link up with the station module, according to cur...This year, a rocket will carry a train car-sized module into orbit, the first building block for a Chinese space station. Around 2013, China plans to launch a lunar ...
A robotic Chinese spaceship is chasing down another vessel for a scheduled orbital meet-up Wednesday (Nov. 2) that could help clear the way for China's planned space...
An unmanned Chinese spacecraft returned to Earth on Thursday night after it docked twice with an orbiting module in preparation for the country launching its own spa...
Former astronaut Gene Cernan weighs in
Should scientists demand a moon base?
China is asking the public to help come up with a name and logo for its future space station in a sign of growing confidence in its ambitious program.The appeal is t...
BEIJING -- China is planning its own space station -- and it's finished the first module.The official Xinhua News Agency says the module's electronics and other syst...
The U.S. investment in commercial space taxis will soon double.NASA issued a solicitation on Tuesday for the next phase of its so-called Commercial Crew Program, aim...
The U.S. investment in commercial space taxis will soon double.NASA issued a solicitation on Tuesday for the next phase of its so-called Commercial Crew Program, aim...
Former astronaut Gene Cernan reacts
China's state broadcaster isn't saying why the station ran the music to "America the Beautiful" during the gala live broadcast of the country's latest space launch.S...
What are their plans for space?
China launched an unmanned spacecraft Tuesday as part of its plans to establish a permanent space station.The Shenzhou-8 spacecraft blasted off at 5:58am local time ...
China successfully launched its first space lab module into orbit in an impressive nighttime display.The unmanned Tiangong 1 module lifted off on a Chinese Long Marc...
China is making final preparations to launch its first space lab module — a prototype for a future space station — this week, state media reported.The unmanned Tiang...
The U.S. Air Force's top secret X-37B space plane may be spying on China , according to a report in Spaceflight magazine .The unmanned craft was launched into Earth'...
China plans to launch space labs and manned ships and prepare to build space stations over the next five years, according to a plan released Thursday that shows the ...
Russia's space agency announced Wednesday that the International Space Station -- a space base the world's scientists and billions of U.S. tax dollars helped build a...
BEIJING (AP) — China has finished the first module of a planned space station and is testing its electronics and other systems before launching it into orbit next ye...
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