Shenzhou VIII Launch Successful

October 31, 2011 | 9:47 pm
Gregory Kulacki
China Project Manager

This is a video captured from a live Chinese television broadcast of the complete launch of the Shenzhou VIII spacecraft on the morning of November 1, 2011. The video begins at 40 seconds before ignition and continues through entry into the assigned orbit and the opening of the spacecraft’s solar panels.

The next major televised event in the current mission will be the planned docking of the Shenzhou VIII with the Tiangong 1 space lab in the very early morning hours of November 3, China Standard Time (CST).

About the author

More from Gregory

Gregory Kulacki is a Senior Analyst and the China Project Manager for the Global Security Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Research Center for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (RECNA) at Nagasaki University. He works on improving cross-cultural communication between the United States of America, China and Japan on nuclear weapons and related security issues. Prior to joining UCS in 2002, Dr. Kulacki was the Director of External Studies at Pitzer College, an Associate Professor of Government at Green Mountain College and the China Director for the Council on International Educational Exchange. Gregory completed his doctorate in government and politics at the University of Maryland College Park.