Chinese complete their first space docking manoeuvre

After successfully sending their first man in space in 2003 with Shenzhou-5, and executing their first EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) in 2008 with Shenzhou-7, this week the unmanned Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou-8 successfully docked with the TianGong-1 space module, a first for the Chinese Space Program.

The Shenzhou spaceship and Tiangong module are similar in size and design to the Russian Soyuz ship and Salyut module from the early 1970's. The Shenzhou spacecraft can carry up to 3 persons to low-earth orbit, while the Tiangong experimental module is a 9 tons, 10 meters long pressurized living module that can accommodate 3 persons. Tiangong is primarily designed to test docking procedures. 

The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) plans to send 3 Taikonauts (the Chinese name for Astronauts) to the Tiangong-1 module in 2012 aboard Shenzhou-9 and 3 more aboard Shenzhou-10 in 2013.

Shenzhou-7 space walk

Shenzhou-8 lifts-off on top of  a Long March 2F rocket

Shenzhou-8

Developing docking capabilities is an important step towards china's goal of building a space station by 2020. At 60 tons, this space station will be about half the size to the Russian MIR station from the 1980's and one seventh the size of the International Space Station.

After that, the CNSA plans to send humans to the moon around 2025, although that date seems a little optimistic.

Although these accomplishments are impressive, as a space enthusiast eager to see humans (of any nationality) explore the cosmos I must say that I am a little disappointed by the pace of their progress, for it seems to me that the Chinese are only slowly catching up with the US or Russia. Their first man in space in 2003 was 42 years after Russia's first man in space. Their first EVA in 2008 was 43 years after Alexei Leonov's first space walk. This week's first docking comes 40 years after the Soyuz/Salyut docking in 1971, so they always seem to be around 40 years behind. Even if they stay on schedule for their future space station,  it will still be 30 years behind MIR. Their plan to send humans to the moon in 2025 would put it 56 years after Apollo 11. 

It would take them 22 years to go from first man in orbit to first man on the moon.  It only took NASA 7 years to do the same thing in the 1960's.

So as much as i would like to see China take a more prominent role in human space exploration, on par with the US and Russia, it doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon, unless they seriously pick up the pace.