HEAVENLY:Tiangong-1, China's first unmanned space module (LIANG XU)

China's first unmanned space module Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace-1, successfully lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province on September 29.

"The successful launch of the 8.5-ton prototype space laboratory has opened the gates for China's deep space exploration program," said Qi Faren, former chief designer of China's Shenzhou spacecraft. "It is a decisive leap forward for the Chinese space industry and will bring about the rapid development of space science and related technologies."

Future space lab

According to published plans, Tiangong-1 will eventually be transformed into a manned space laboratory after trial dockings by three spacecraft - Shenzhou 8, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10.

"In simple terms, Tiangong-1 will serve as a target spacecraft, while the Shenzhou spaceships will be trackers," Qi said.

The unmanned Shenzhou 8 was expected to go into space within two months after Tiangong-1's launch. Scientists on the ground will control the docking between the spacecraft and Tiangong-1. If that mission is a success, at some point in 2012, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 will complete at least one manned docking with the new space platform.

Space docking technology is considered one of the most advanced proficiencies for space exploration as it requires the precise handling of two high-speed spacecraft that meet and dock.

Following its conversion into a manned space laboratory, Tiangong-1 will provide a "safe room" for astronauts to conduct research in space.

Since a space laboratory is subject to almost no gravity and operates in a vacuum, it allows experiments in the life and material sciences to be conducted in conditions that cannot be replicated on the Earth. Scientists can breed new crops, invent new drugs and create new materials, along with conducting research in astronomy, Earth observation and navigation.

"During the coming Shenzhou 8 mission, China and Germany will jointly carry out a biological cultivation experiment in the spacecraft," said Wang Zhaoyao, a spokesperson for the China National Space Administration (CNSA), adding China and France are also discussing the possibility of joint experiments in China's space laboratory.