China's manned space docking aided by innovation

Scientists and engineers have been hard at work coming up with innovative communication techniques to help make China's first manned space docking mission a success, one of the mission's designers said Monday.

Wang Ruijun, general designer of the mission's tracking and communication system, said engineers have come up with new ways to integrate multiple telemetric control and communication channels, making it easier to guide the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft from a long distance.

The Shenzhou-9, with its crew of three astronauts, successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 lab module Monday afternoon.

The astronauts will enter the space lab later in the day and use it to conduct experiments, exercise and rest.

To ensure smooth communication between the astronauts and ground control, Wang said engineers have designed a telemetric communication system that uses relay satellites, as well as land- and sea-based tracking stations, to maintain communications.

When designing the tracking and control system for the mission, engineers optimized the allocation of tracking and communication resources to ensure successful long-distance guidance, Wang said.