China's Shenzhou 10 ship docks with space lab
Associated Press
BEIJING
(AP) — China's latest manned space capsule docked with an orbiting
space station Thursday, and the three astronauts climbed aboard what
will be their home for the next week, state
media reported.
Automated
controls guided the Shenzhou-10's docking with the space lab, the
Xinhua News Agency said. After entering the space lab, the crew
exchanged their space gear for blue jumpsuits,
Xinhua said.
During
their 12-day stay at the lab, the astronauts will perform a manual
docking exercise and conduct scientific experiments. They will also
deliver a series of science lectures — part
of an outreach to increase the space program's popularity among younger
Chinese.
The
lab, the Tiangong-1, is an experimental space station. In operation for
less than two years, it will be taken out of use later this year and
replaced by a larger, more durable module
by 2020.
The
latest Shenzhou flight the fifth manned mission in a decade in a
program that has been marked by methodical advances to catch up with the
other two manned space powers — Russia and
the U.S.-
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