Forecasts signal late-week launch of Tiangong-1

 　　BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Weather forecasts showed that Thursday or Friday might be suitable for launching the Tiangong-1 spacecraft, experts said.

　　The unmanned spacecraft, part of China's first spacecraft rendezvous¹ and docking mission, was set to blast off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China at an appropriate time between Tuesday and Friday.

　　But the latest weather forecast showed that Tuesday and Wednesday would not be suitable for a launch, Cui Jijun, chief commander of the mission's launch site system, was quoted by China National Radio as saying on Sunday.

　　A precondition for launching is that the average wind speed at the launch site should not be faster than 10 meters a second. The upper-level wind, at 300 meters to 25,000 meters above the Earth, should be no faster than 70 meters a second.

　　If the wind is too strong, the rising rocket carrier could wiggle and pose a danger, experts said.

　　"Everything is ready now except for the right weather," Cui said.

　　On Sunday afternoon, all systems of the Tiangong-1 project went through a joint² maneuver³, he said. Before that, the 8.5-ton spacecraft, and the Long March II-F rocket that will carry it skyward, were positioned onto the launch pad last Tuesday.

　　Engineers carried out checkups on the conditions of the rocket and the spacecraft, among many other tests in the past few days. All preparation work is done except for fuel loading, he said.

　　Wang Xiaoqing, a publicity⁴ official at the launch site, said that the fuel loading usually begins one day before the launch. Once the fuel is loaded into the carrier vehicle, the launch becomes "irreversible".

　　Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace 1, will serve as "a target spacecraft" for three rendezvous and docking experiments.

　　The spacecraft rendezvous and docking missions are expected to pave the way for the building of a planned space station scheduled for 2020, previous reports said.

　　Following Tiangong-1, an unmanned Shenzhou VIII spaceship will blast off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center later this year.

　　Lu Jinrong, chief engineer of the mission's launch site system, said that it is rare that two launches of China's manned space program are scheduled in half a year.

　　"In the past, the launch site carried out one launch a year, or even one every two to three years," he said.

　　"We are already in a high-frequency launch period."

1 rendezvous   

n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇

参考例句：

• She made the rendezvous with only minutes to spare.她还差几分钟时才来赴约。
• I have a rendezvous with Peter at a restaurant on the harbour.我和彼得在海港的一个餐馆有个约会。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

4 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。