In China it was just past midnight when, after thirty orbits, the spacecraft Shenzhou 8 launched two days ago docked successfully with the Tiangong 1 module, which was put into orbit in September, at a height of about 343 km. Thus the first attempt by China to dock an unmanned spacecraft was completed.

When in China it was dawn, the spacecraft Shenzhou 8 took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using a modified Long March 2F rocket, the most powerful made ​​by the Chinese. This is an unmanned spacecraft that after two days should make the first docking of an unmanned spacecraft attempted by the Chinese. The docking will occur with the module Tiangong 1, which was put in orbit last September.