Full coverage: China Tiangong-2 Space Lab Launch
China's Shenzhou 11 manned space flight mission will send two astronauts to dock with the recently launched Tiangong-2 space lab. This is China's sixth manned space flight and comes as an important test for Chinese space technology. In the future, China's space program plans to have its very own fully functioning space station in orbit.
The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft will take two astronauts into orbit, nearly 400 kilometers above the earth.
Before docking with the space lab, the Shenzhou 11 will need adjustments to both speed AND position.
Too fast - it will crash into the Tiangong 2 and too slow it simply won't make it.
The Shenzhou 11 will need every bit of precision to lock in with the space lab.
Even a tiny deviation could cause the two to fling apart.
If all goes well, the two astronauts are to enter the Tiangong-2 through a passage that connects the space lab to the spacecraft.
They will stay in the space lab for 30 days, while the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft will remain docked.
Upon completing their mission, the crew will return with the Shenzhou 11 as it will detach from the space lab and bring the astronauts back down to earth.