AlHijjah 6, 1432, Nov 2, 2011, SPA -- China successfully carried out its first docking exercise on Thursday between two unmanned spacecraft, a key test of the rising power's plans to secure a long-term manned foothold in space, according to Reuters. The Shenzhou 8 spacecraft joined the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1 module about 340 km above Earth, in a manoeuvre carried live on state television. The 10.5 metre-long unmanned Tiangong, launched on Sept. 29, is part of China's preparations for a space laboratory at some point in the future. Premier Wen Jiabao and other senior leaders oversaw the operation from a command centre in Beijing, a measure of the importance the government attaches to this mission and to China's space ambitions in general. "China is now equipped with the basic technology and capacity required for the construction of a space station," chief designer Zhou Jianping was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. "This will make it possible for China to carry out space exploration on a larger scale," he added. -- SPA
