Altitude of space lab readjusted for dockings in 2012

China's space lab prototype, Tiangong-1, was maneuvered twice on Friday moving it further into space and to long-term orbit about 382 km above earth, the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) said. The operations were in preparation for another docking attempts with two Chinese space vehicles which are scheduled to be launched next year, BACC senior engineer Tang Geshi said. Tang noted that it would require less altitude adjustments for Tiangong-1 to dock with Shenzhou-9 in an orbit 343 km above earth, as the target orbiter would gradually lose its altitude due to atmospheric drag, from the current 382 km above earth, during the wait. Tiangong-1 was launched on September 29, while Shenzhou-8 was launched on Nov. 1 to fulfill China's first space docking mission. The two orbiters successfully docked twice with each other on Nov. 3 and Nov. 14 separately. The Shenzhou-8 re-entry module landed in northern China Thursday evening. China has announced its plan of another two docking missions with Tiangong-1 next year, with at least one manned. The country plans to establish its own space lab in 2016 and a manned space station in 2020.