Chinese Astronauts Dock With Orbiting Space Lab : The Two-Way : NPR
A trio of Chinese astronauts has successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 space laboratory for what’s expected to be a total of 15 days in orbit — the longest mission to date for China’s burgeoning manned space program.
The published plan is for the three-person crew, including Wang Yaping, China’s second female spacefarer, to practice docking maneuvers between their Shenzhou-10 capsule and the Tiangong (“Heavenly Palace”). The crew will also conduct medical exams and “carry out youth-oriented science education activities during two space science lectures” from orbit, according to NASA. Wang is being billed as China’s “first teacher in space” and is scheduled to broadcast a lecture on Earth physics.
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