China may send woman astronaut for 1st space docking mission
Daily Excelsior
05:06 PM Mar 13, 2012 IST
BEIJING, Mar 12: China, which is yet to take a decision on a three-member crew for its first manned space docking mission this year, today said that it may include a woman astronaut in the team.Authorities have completed the initial selection of crew members for China�s first manned space docking mission and the roster includes woman astronauts, an official with the country�s manned space programme said.But the final three-person crew will be decided "on the very last condition" of the team of astronauts of both sexes currently undergoing training, Niu Hongguang, deputy commander -in-chief of the country�s manned space programme and deputy head of General Armament Department of the Chinese People�s Liberation Army, was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.The manned spacecraft Shenzhou-9 will take its crew members to board the Tiangong-1 space module lab, which was launched in September last year and completed the country�s first space docking with the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft in November.The selected astronauts are in training at the moment, Niu said on the sidelines of the annual Parliamentary session.Assembly on the Shenzhou-9 and its carrier rocket, the Long March-2F, has been completed, and the manned space docking is due between June and August this year, he said."The perfect docking between Shenzhou-8 and Tiangong-1 has laid the perfect foundation for the manned docking this year," Niu said, noting that the manned docking will feature brand new technology.Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace-1, has been orbiting normally for more than 160 days, and is capable of docking with Shenzhou-9 and accommodating astronauts, he said. (PTI)
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