China Launched Its Unmanned Spacecraft, Shenzhou-8

China launched its unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou-8 on 1 November 2011. Long March-2F rocket propelled the unmanned spacecraft into orbit in the next step towards China's ambitious plans for a manned space station by 2020. Shenzhou-8 carried an experimental facility developed by German and Chinese scientists.

It is to join with the Tiangong-1 or Heavenly Palace experimental module. Once it is done it would be China's first space docking. Shenzhou 8 was launched from North Gobi desert in China which entered into the orbit successfully.

Once China masters technology of rendezvous and docking China will possess the basic technology and capacity to build a space station which further will open up possibilities for even larger activities in space. The mission was considered China's most important since its first manned space flight in 2003. In September 2008, the Shenzhou 7, piloted by three astronauts, carried out China's first spacewalk.