Helicopters, aerial and ground search teams are on standby mode ready to recover the Shenzhou 8 unmanned spacecraft. That craft was used for docking to the prototype space lab, Tiangong 1.
The unpiloted spaceship is to touch down in the main landing field in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region this Thursday, local time.
The reentry and landing of Shenzhou 8 comes after China successfully completed its first two space docking tests that joined the Shenzhou 8 with the target orbiter, Tiangong 1, on Nov. 3 and Nov. 14, respectively.
The re-entry capsule of Shenzhou-8 is set to land back on earth around 7 p.m. Thursday, according to Chinese space authorities. All arrangements are in place for the search and rescue of the re-entry capsule after it lands.
China has announced its plan of another two docking missions with Tiangong 1 next year, with at least one piloted. The country plans to establish its own space lab around 2016 and a crewed space station around 2020.
By Leonard David