Shenzhou-8, which was launched on November 1, docked with space lab module Tiangong-1 on November 3. The two spacecraft are set to dock again soon, according to the mission's control centre, official media here reported.
Tiangong-1 has been in orbit since its launch on September 29. After the second docking, Shenzhou-8 will disengages itself once again and return back home.
The docking mechanism, composed of up to 10,000 parts, and the more than 600 instruments aboard Shenzhou-8 were all developed and made by China, Wu Ping, spokeswoman for China's manned space programme, has said at a previous press conference.
The experiments were part of China's plan to establish its own space station by 2020 to rival Mir, the Russian space station currently being operated by Russian and US space agencies. Currently, China is training team of men and women astronauts to go on experimental mission to stay in the station next year.
The success of the docking procedure made China the third country in the world, after the United States and Russia, to master the technique, moving the country one step closer to establishing its own space station.
