China conducts first manual space docking

BEIJING, June 24, 2012 (AFP) - A Chinese spacecraft on Sunday successfully completed the country's first manual docking in orbit, a milestone in an ambitious programme to build a space station by the end of the decade.

The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft linked with the Tiangong-1 module just over a week into a manned space mission which includes China's first female astronaut, following an automatic docking on Monday.“The success of the manual docking mission represents a major breakthrough. It was a precise and perfect docking,” Wu Ping, spokes-

The success of the manual docking mission represents a major breakthrough

woman for China's manned space programme, told a news conference in Beijing.

Veteran astronaut Liu Wang used a joystick-like device to carry out the manoeuvre, with state media describing him as “threading the needle”.

The move was the main goal of the 13-day Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) mission, testing the dock- ing technique needed to be able to construct a space station -which China aims to do by 2020.

“The manual docking is a significant step for China's manned space programme,” chief designer Zhou Jianping told the official Xinhua news agency.

“China has fully grasped... docking technologies that are essential when building a space station,” he said.