Shenzhou 8

Shenzhou 8 was an uncrewed Shenzhou mission that performed China's first orbital rendezvous and docking with the Tiangong-1 experimental space laboratory. It launched from Jiuquan on October 31, 2011 UTC, completed its first automatic docking on November 2 UTC, separated and docked a second time on November 14 UTC to verify the safety and reliability of the system, and returned to the main landing site in Inner Mongolia on November 17. The mission validated automatic rendezvous, docking, separation, upgraded spacecraft, and launch-vehicle systems before the first crewed Tiangong visit.