Chinese Long March 2F/G preparing to launch historic Shenzhou-9 mission

Go China! It is not much more than a Mir-ripoff (a space station built by the Soviets in 1986) - but at least we will have another space station in orbit for a while.

Article: 
Four years after the launch of the historical Shenzhou-7 EVA mission, China is set to write another chapter his space history with the launch of the manned Shenzhou-9 mission. On board, the three person crew – including the first female taikonaut – are scheduled to launch at 10:37 UTC on Saturday onboard the Long March 2F/G, from the 921 Launch Pad of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

 

Chinese Mission:

The 13 day flight of Shenzhou-9 is centered around the expected docking with unmanned space module Tiangong-1 that was launched on September 29, 2011.
This module is the rudiment of China’s space station and is an experimental space laboratory, launched with the objective to carry out the rendezvous and docking test with the Shenzhou-8, that was launched in November, 2011.

The Chinese see this as a key step towards gaining the experience for the construction, management and operation of a space station.

After the launch, Shenzhou-9 will be initially inserted into a parking orbit, before raising its orbital parameters to a near circular orbit with an altitude of 330 km. The spacecraft will take two days to get near Tiangong-1.

Providing everything goes according to plan, the docking is expected to take place on June 18. Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou-9 will stay docked for a period of 10 days. However, during this time, a second docking manoeuvre will take place. After another period of docking, Shenzhou-9 will return to Earth.

Full article: nasaspaceflight.com