China Readying for Uncrewed Space Station Launch, Possibly Oct. 31
The much anticipated launch of China’s Shenzhou-8 to dock with the Tiangong-1 space station module could take place as early as October 31.
Chinese news reports have not been specific about when the launch will occur, saying only “early November.” However, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has an experiment aboard Shenzhou-8. It revealed that the launch is scheduled for October 31 at 23:00 Central European Time (November 1, 06:00 local time at China’s Jiuquan launch center.) That time corresponds to 6:00 pm EDT.
Shenzhou-8 will not carry a crew. It is one of three spacecraft China intends to dock with Tiangong-1 over the next two years; only the last is currently expected to carry a crew.
Germany’s 25 kilogram “Science in a Microgravity Box” or SIMBOX contains 17 biological and medical experiments.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this posting mistakenly referred to the launch possibly taking place today, instead of October 31.
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