Monday, August 22, 2011

Chinese news footage showing the Tiangong-1 space station undergoing testing earlier this year.
China Manned Space Engineering Office

TIANGONG-1 POISED FOR LAUNCH... China’s very first space station may launch before the end of this year. The irony would be if Tiangong-1 was damaged—after it reached orbit—by debris from a weather satellite [the Feng Yun 1C (or FY-1C) polar orbit spacecraft] that China intentionally destroyed during a missile test in January of 2007. I would say 'God Forbid'...but the station is an unmanned prototype of a manned orbital outpost that China plans to launch by the end of this decade—so let karma strike Tiangong-1 if it deserves it. The International Space Station was threatened by debris from the FY-1C earlier this year (and continues to be at risk), as an FYI.

Chinese news footage showing the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft that will dock with Tiangong-1 next year undergoing pre-flight testing.
China Manned Space Engineering Office

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