<p>Three Chinese -- including the country's first woman astronaut -- Monday became the "first tenants" of the Tiangong-1 space module after China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou-9 successfully docked with the orbiter.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Beijing Aerospace Control Centre said the procedure began with the Shenzhou-9 moving to a location 52 km away from the Tiangong-1. The spacecraft then slowly drifted toward the Tiangong-1 before making contact with the module at 2.07 p.m. China time.The 8.5-tonne space module has been going around the earth for 263 days since it was launched in September 2011.<br /><br />The docking was completed in less than eight minutes, Xinhua reported.Shenzhou-9, atop the Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre Saturday.<br /><br />The first Chinese woman in space, 33-year-old Liu Yang, is joined by commanding officer Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang.<br /><br />Last year, China successfully carried out the automated rendezvous and docking between the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft and Tiangong-1.<br /><br />The three astronauts Monday floated into the cabin of the orbiting module, becoming the first from their country to enter an orbiter in space.<br /><br />Live TV broadcast showed the blue uniform-clad astronauts waving to the camera inside the Tiangong-1 after they entered the cabin.<br /><br />They became the first tenants in the 15-cubic-metre cabin of the Tiangong-1 also known as "Heavenly Palace".<br /><br />"The real test will be the manual docking attempt six days later," said Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space programme.<br /><br />"A manual docking, if successful, will demonstrate the country's grasp of essential space rendezvous and docking knowhow," he said.<br /><br />"It will mean China is fully capable of transferring humans and cargo to an orbiter in space," Zhou said.</p>
<p>Three Chinese -- including the country's first woman astronaut -- Monday became the "first tenants" of the Tiangong-1 space module after China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou-9 successfully docked with the orbiter.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Beijing Aerospace Control Centre said the procedure began with the Shenzhou-9 moving to a location 52 km away from the Tiangong-1. The spacecraft then slowly drifted toward the Tiangong-1 before making contact with the module at 2.07 p.m. China time.The 8.5-tonne space module has been going around the earth for 263 days since it was launched in September 2011.<br /><br />The docking was completed in less than eight minutes, Xinhua reported.Shenzhou-9, atop the Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre Saturday.<br /><br />The first Chinese woman in space, 33-year-old Liu Yang, is joined by commanding officer Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang.<br /><br />Last year, China successfully carried out the automated rendezvous and docking between the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft and Tiangong-1.<br /><br />The three astronauts Monday floated into the cabin of the orbiting module, becoming the first from their country to enter an orbiter in space.<br /><br />Live TV broadcast showed the blue uniform-clad astronauts waving to the camera inside the Tiangong-1 after they entered the cabin.<br /><br />They became the first tenants in the 15-cubic-metre cabin of the Tiangong-1 also known as "Heavenly Palace".<br /><br />"The real test will be the manual docking attempt six days later," said Zhou Jianping, chief engineer of China's manned space programme.<br /><br />"A manual docking, if successful, will demonstrate the country's grasp of essential space rendezvous and docking knowhow," he said.<br /><br />"It will mean China is fully capable of transferring humans and cargo to an orbiter in space," Zhou said.</p>