Shenzhou-11 Docks With Tiangong-2, SpaceRef “China’s Shenzhou-11 has docked with the Tiangong-2 Space Station. After completing a series of systems checks astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong will enter Tiangong-2 to begin their one month mission. Next spring an automated cargo vehicle will resupply Tiangong-2 in advance of future astronaut visits.”

China to launch manned space mission Shenzhou 11 on Monday “China will launch a two-man space mission, Shenzhou 11, on Monday, officials with the space program said, taking the country closer to its ambition of setting up a permanent manned space station by 2022. After Monday’s launch at 7:30 a.m. (2330 GMT) in the remote northwestern province of Gansu, the astronauts will dock with the Tiangong 2 space laboratory, where […]

China’s space station to open for foreign peers, China Daily “China is willing to provide training and open the Chinese space station to foreign astronauts, senior space flight officials said. “We would like to train astronauts from other countries and organizations that have such a demand, and we would be glad to provide trips to foreign astronauts,” said Yang Liwei, deputy director of China Manned Space Agency. “We will also […]

Space, the Missing Frontier, opinion, NY Times “During the transition period after he defeated John McCain, Obama contemplated combining the best of the space programs at the Pentagon and NASA to compete with the rapidly accelerating Chinese space program. For whatever reasons, he declined to follow through on that plan when he became president. The president should dust off those plans. Given the fact that during the height of the […]

Chinese Submarine Breaks Deepest-Dive Record In Mariana Trench “A Chinese submarine descended to 6,908 meters (22,600 feet) in the Mariana Trench today, breaking the record for the nation’s deepest dive a day after astronauts performed China’s first manned space docking.”

ESA, China Discuss Shenzhou Docking At ISS, Aviation Week “European Space Agency Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain met with his Chinese counterpart March 22-23 to discuss future cooperation in manned spaceflight, including the potential for a Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). The two sides met at Dordain’s request on the sidelines of the European Space Agency’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) launch to the ISS […]

Keith’s note: Video: Shenzhou-8 Rendezvous and Docking with Tiangong-1

Space Station Partners Release International Docking Standard “The International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board (MCB) has approved a docking system standard. The international standard will provide guidelines for a common interface to link future spacecraft ranging from crewed to autonomous vehicles and from low-Earth orbit to deep-space exploration missions.” Letter To Charles Bolden From Representatives Larsen, Boustany, and Kirk (PDF) “As NASA develops the new Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) based […]