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The three astronauts will perform medical tests on the effect of weightlessness on the human body, as well as other scientific and engineering tasks on Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace, which was put into orbit in September. Wu said the capsule would first dock by remote control, then later separate and dock again manually, to prepare the technology for a permanent space station. "After we have realized both the auto and manual docking technology, we can completely master this technology," she said. China first launched a man into space in 2003 followed by a two-man mission in 2005 and a three-man trip in 2008 that featured China's first space walk. In November 2011, the unmanned Shenzhou 8 successfully docked with the Tiangong 1 by remote control
-- twice to show the durability of the system. While operating with limited resources, China's space program is a source of huge national pride and enjoys top-level political and military backing. This has left it largely immune from the budgetary pressures affecting NASA, although China doesn't say what it spends on the program. The selection of the first female astronaut is giving the program an additional publicity boost. State media have gushed this week about Liu, pointing out that she once successfully landed her plane after a bird strike disabled one of its engines. Shortly after Wu's news conference, reporters were driven to a second building for a question-and-answer session with the astronauts, who were dressed in blue jumpsuits and seated behind a glass partition. "We won't let you down. We will work together and successfully complete this mission," said Liu Yang, who like China's other female astronaut candidates is married and has a child
-- a requirement because of fears that exposure to space radiation could affect fertility.
[Associated
Press;
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