China is soon all set to launch a space mission with a man onboard the spacecraft which will later dock with a space module already in orbit around the Earth. This plan comes at a time when the nation has been planning to build its own Spacelab to contend against Russia's Mir Station.

Between June and August, a date will be picked for the launch program according to the Chinese space agency's spokesperson. On board would be three astronauts on the Shenzhou-10 which will later hook up with Tiangong-1 which had been in the space since September 2011. Earlier in November, 2011 Shenzhou 8 docked with the aircraft without any astronauts on board. After it was deemed safe, a manned aircraft Shenzhou 9 was launched to dock with it in June 2012. This also had the first Chinese woman traveling into space.

The new spacecraft will assess the performance of the docking system, the combination's capabilities in supporting life and work, and the abilities of astronauts on the job, according to plans. Currently Shenzhou 10 is completely assembled and is being tested for the real mission.

(AW-Anil)