China to conduct another manned space mission by 2012

Jiuquan (China), Oct. 31 (ANI): China has announced plans to conduct another manned space mission by 2012.

Xinhua quoted manned space mission spokeswoman Wu Ping, as saying at a press briefing on Monday morning that China plans to launch in 2012 spaceships Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10, which are expected to dock with China's first space lab module, Tiangong-1.

"At least one mission of the two will be manned," Wu said.

The crew members have already been selected for the possible space docking mission in 2012 and are being trained for manual docking skills, Wu said.

Before the manned flight, China has to test its know-how on space docking by launching an unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8, whose takeoff is scheduled at 5:58 a.m. Tuesday, and connecting Shenzhou-8 with the target orbiter Tiangong-1. (ANI)