Shenzhou 9

Shenzhou 9

Shenzhou 9 (Chinese: 神舟9) is China’s manned spacecraft scheduled to take off sometime in mid-June, 2012, and set to dock with the operational Tiangong 1, the nation’s first space lab module.

As part of the Shenzhou program following Shenzhou 8, the unmanned spacecraft that successfully undertook a docking mission with Tiangong 1 less than a year ago, Shenzhou 9 will also perform this rendezvous after being launched into the orbit by the Long March 2F rocket.

The crew is expected to consist of three astronauts, with one of them hopefully set to be the country’s first female taikonaut—selected from the two pilot candidates Liu Yang and Wang Yaping. The upcoming space trip is highlighted by the participation of a female astronaut and has therefore become quite the hot topic. Nevertheless, China has no plans to conduct another space walk similar to that of Zhai Zhigang during the 2008 three-day tour of Shenzhou 7.

Shenzhou 9 is expected to remain in space for 13 to 14 days before returning to earth.

Both Shenzhou 9 and its rocket carrier are currently in Jiuquan, China’s long-time satellite launch center nestled deep within the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.