Inside China's Space Rendezvous Success (Infographic)

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The docking of two robotic spacecraft, the Tiangong 1 space station and Shenzhou 8 capsule, provided a preview of larger Chinese space complexes planned for the future.
The docking of two robotic spacecraft, the Tiangong 1 space station and Shenzhou 8 capsule, provided a preview of larger Chinese space complexes planned for the future. (Image credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor)

China successfully docked two robotic spacecraft in orbit on Nov. 3, 2011 Beijing Time, joining an elite group of nations who have demonstrated the art of space rendezvous. Take a look at how the space docking occurred and how it stacks up against space station firsts of Russia and the United States in the infographic above.

Karl Tate
Karl Tate
Space.com contributor

Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork).  Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.  He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.