| 15:41:19 |
Six of China's seven previously launched spacecraft landed in the grasslands of Siziwang banner. The region is well-suited for spacecraft landings, as it is sparsely populated, is relatively flat and has few trees or natural formations that could cause problems during landing procedures. |
| 15:39:29 |
After reaching the craft, the team will conduct a series of inspections and collect data from the vessel. Incubators inside the craft must be handled delicately and sent back to Beijing promptly, as they contain biological experiments jointly conducted by Chinese and German scientists, Zhang said. |
| 15:38:49 |
A search and recovery team has been organized for the return of the spacecraft, according to Zhang, adding that the craft should be retrieved within two and a half hours of landing. The search and recovery team will use four helicopters equipped with receivers designed to detect signals from the craft, Zhang said. |
| 15:37:47 |
The task of retrieving the Shenzhou 8 will be "tremendous," despite the fact that the craft is unmanned. The craft has been in space for 17 days, much longer than China's previous missions, Zhang said. |
| 15:36:24 |
The landing site has been on alert since the spacecraft was launched into orbit. The area in which the craft may land is 15 times larger than the landing zones used in previous missions, making it more difficult to retrieve the craft, said Zhang Haidong, commander-in-chief of landing operations for China's manned space program. |
| 15:35:35 |
The Shenzhou 8 is scheduled to touch down around 7 pm at a landing site located in Siziwang Banner (county) in north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. |
| 10:44:57 |
China plans to establish its own space lab around 2016 and a manned space station around 2020. |
| 10:43:42 |
China has announced its plan of another two docking missions with Tiangong-1 next year, with at least one manned. |
| 10:40:24 |
The successful space docking tryouts provide vital know-how to China for its three-phase development strategy of the manned space program, Chinese technologists said. |
| 10:37:43 |
All arrangements are in place for the search and rescue of the re-entry capsule after Shenzhou 8 lands,a spokesperson for China's manned space program said. |
| 10:36:11 |
Shenzhou 8 will fly alone for a period of time after disengagement from Tiangong-1, which will leave room for any fine tuning of the orbit for the spacecraft's return, deputy chief engineer of the BACC Li Jian said. |
| 10:26:07 |
Searchers hold a rehearsal of searching and retrieving the Shenzhou 8 unmanned spacecraft in the main landing field in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Nov.16. |
| 09:59:39 |
The re-entry capsule of Shenzhou 8 is set to return to Earth and land in central Inner Mongolia at around 7 pm today. |
| 09:58:30 |
The Beijing Aerospace Control Center, which is in command of the mission, will signal Shenzhou 8 back to earth today after conducting a series of examinations, tests and preparation. |
| 09:53:50 |
Tiangong-1, a module of a planned space lab, has been in orbit since its launch on Sept. 29. |
| 09:53:02 |
The departure came after China had successfully completed its first two space docking tests that joined the Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, launched on Nov. 1, and the target orbiter Tiangong-1, on Nov. 3 and Nov. 14, respectively. |
| 09:51:17 |
China's unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 departed from the prototype space lab Tiangong-1 at 6:30 p.m. on November 16, preparing for return to earth, a spokesperson for China's manned space program said. |
