倾世眷宠 王爷墙头:中国腾飞：历史性的空间交汇对接

中国的宇宙飞船于周三被送到另一个航空器的轨道上，并将在这里交汇对接，这为中国计划的空间站铺平了道路。

The unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft launched yesterday on a mission to locate and latch onto the prototype space lab Tiangong 1, which has been circling Earth since late September. The historic space docking, which would be a first for China, is due to occur sometime Wednesday Eastern Daylight Time (which might make it Thursday local time in China), officials have said.

昨天，成功发射的无人操作的神舟八号宇宙飞船的使命是与先前发射的空间实验室的原型天宫一号对接，天宫一号自九月下旬以来已经开始绕地球轨道运行。这个历史性的空间对接，对中国来说是第一次，将于东部时间周三的某时间进行（或者于中国当地时间周四进行）。

The main goal is to test out technologies that China will use to assemble a space station in orbit, which the nation hopes have operational by 2020.

主要目标是验证我们的技术，这项技术是中国用来在轨道上组装空间站的，中国希望该空间站能够在2020年建成。

"Unlike the U.S. which started with manually flown dockings, China is attempting an automated docking first and then manned dockings," Aerospace International editor Tim Robinson said, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua. "This probably reduces the human risk to crew, but it is also very ambitious."

“和美国的人工对接不同，中国首先试图采用自动对接的方式，然后会采用人工对接，”国际航空的主编蒂姆·罗宾逊据中国国家通讯社新华社说。“这可能减少运输航天员的风险，但这也是一个非常有雄心的行为。”

Meeting up with Tiangong 1

对接天宫一号

Wednesday's robotic docking will require a series of intricate maneuvers, some of them directed by engineers on the ground and some performed autonomously by the spacecraft. [Shenzhou 8: Photos From China's 1st Space Docking Test]

周三的机械对接工作要求一系列错综复杂的操作，其中一些动作由地面上的工程师来完成，一些有航空器自动履行。

For example, ground control will order five orbital maneuvers to get Shenzhou 8 in the same neighborhood as Tiangong 1. But once Shenzhou 8 gets to within about 30 miles (50 kilometers) of the space lab, the newly launched ship's onboard sensors will take over, Xinhua reported.

例如，地面控制系统会进行五种轨道操作，让神舟八号处于天宫一号的同一区域。但是，一旦神舟八号到达空间实验室大约50千米的位置时，新发射飞船上的感应器将负责下一步行动，新华社说。

These sensors will guide Shenzhou 8 the rest of the way automatically, in a slow and delicate approach that will take about two and a half hours. The docking itself — the locking of metal on metal — should take an additional 15 minutes, according to Xinhua.

这些感应器将引导神舟八号自动完成随后的路程，这个过程非常慢，也很精细，大约要用两个半小时。据新华社说，对接本身还需要15分钟（两个航空器锁在一起）。

The two spacecraft will then remain attached for the next 12 days, zipping around Earth together under Tiangong 1's control, Chinese officials said. When those 12 days are up, Shenzhou 8 will detach, retreat to about 460 feet (140 meters) away, then dock again, to prove the first time wasn't a fluke.

中国官员说，在随后的12天内，这两个航空器将保持连接状态，在天宫一号的控制下一起绕地球旋转。在此之后，神舟八号将会分离，退回到大约140米远的地方，然后再次对接，以验证第一次对接不是侥幸成功。

After this second docking, the two vessels will remain joined for just two days. When that time is up, Shenzhou 8 will unhook itself again, this time for good. It will move to about 3 miles (5 km) away and prepare to end its mission.

第二次对接后，两个航空器将在随后的两天里保持对接状态。这之后，神舟八号将再次与天宫脱离，这次是永久脱离。这之后它将运行到5千米以外的地方，结束使命。

"The re-entry module of Shenzhou 8 spaceship will return to the Earth, and Tiangong 1 will ascend to an autonomous flight orbit and convert into long-term operation management mode," China's Manned Space Engineering office spokeswoman Wu Ping told reporters shortly before Shenzhou 8's launch, according to a translation provided by the office.

“神舟八号的返回模块将返回地球，天宫一号将爬升到自主飞行高度并转为长期操作管理模式，”神舟八号发射之前，中国人造空间工程办公室发言人吴苹对记者说。

Tiangong 1 will await two more Shenzhou docking missions, which are slated to launch before the end of 2012. At least one of those missions — which are called Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 — will be manned, Chinese space officials have said.

天宫一号将等待进行两次以上的神舟对接任务，计划在2012年之前发射。这些任务中，至少有一个---称做神舟九号和十号---将由人工操作。

A future space station

未来的空间站

The Shenzhou docking missions are seen as key milestones along the path to building a space station in orbit. China hopes to have a 66-ton station up and running by 2020. (The International Space Station weighs about 430 tons.)

神舟对接任务被视作建设在轨空间站道路上的一座关键里程碑。到2020年，中国希望拥有一个66吨以上的空间站在轨运行。（国际空间站重约430吨。）

The effort is part of China's ambitious human spaceflight plans. It is just the third country, after Russia and the United States, to develop spacecraft capable of flying humans to space and back. China has launched three manned space missions, one each in 2003, 2005 and 2008.  

这个努力是中国雄心勃勃的人类空间飞行计划的一部分。这是继俄罗斯和美国之后，第三个有能力开发载人航天器到太空并返回的国家。中国已经发射了三次载人空间任务，分别是在2003年，2005年和2008年。

All of China's spaceflyers to date have been men. But that could change on one of the next Shenzhou docking missions. Two female "taikonauts" are currently believed to be on China's active duty roster, Xinhua reported. [Most Extreme Human Spaceflight Records]

以前，所有的空间飞行员都是男性。但是，下一次神舟对接任务中，这个情况会发生变化。两名女性“太空人”据信以列入预选名单。

"We must assess both male and female astronauts to verify if human beings can live in space, as there are huge differences between men and women in spite of their common generalities," said Chen Shanguang, director of the Astronaut Center of China, according to Xinhua. "Space exploration activities would be incomplete without participation of female astronauts."

“我们必须评估男性和女性航天员，以证实人类是否能够在空间生活，尽管大体相同，那女之间还是有巨大差异，”中国航天员中心主任陈善广说。“没有女性航天员的参与，空间探索活动是不完整的。”