geekosystem

The Chinese Space Agency has succeeded in a months-long plan to inhabit the country's first orbiting space station, Tiangong-1. The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft launched this past weekend, carrying the first female Chinese astronaut -- or taikonaut, the craft docked with the waiting station. China is now the third country on Earth to have established a habitable orbiting outpost.

Back in October, China took its space operations to new heights by placing the Tiangong-1 space lab in orbit. Then, the Chinese space agency followed up that success by launching the unmanned Shenzhou-8 craft in November, which successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 station. Now, final preparations are underway for the country's first manned mission to its space station, and the crew roster may for the first time include some women.