China says launch of Shenzhou VIII successful
神舟八号飞船成功发射升空

BEIJING - Commander-in-chief of China's manned space program Chang Wanquan announced early Tuesday that the launch of Shenzhou-8 unmanned spacecraft is successful.
北京-中国载人航天计划总指挥常万全在本周二早上宣布神舟八号飞船成功发射。

The spacecraft was successfully sent into the designated orbit after the blastoff at 5:58 am at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern desert area, carried by an upgraded Long March-2F rocket.
周二凌晨5时58分酒泉卫星发射中心，神舟八号搭载长征二号F型火箭发射升空，进入预定轨道。

It is heading to rendezvous with the Tiangong-1, or "Heavenly Palace-1" that was put into space on September 29 for the country's first space docking.
神舟八号将与9月29日发射升空的天宫一号实现“太空相会”，实施中国航天史上首次空间交会对接。

The docking, if successful, will pave the way for China to operate a permanent space station around 2020, and make the nation the world's third to do so.
这次交会对接如果能成功完成，将为中国在2020年左右建立永久性太空站铺平道路，中国也将继美国和俄罗斯之后成为世界上第三个建立永久空间站的国家。

The docking will happen within two days after the launch of the Shenzhou VIII at a height of 343 km above Earth's surface. The spacecraft will return to Earth after two docking operations.
万众瞩目的交会对接任务将在神舟八号发射升空的两天内完成，交会对接轨道距离地球表面343公里。神舟八号将在完成两次对接任务后返回地球。

【相关报道】

Shenzhou-8 scheduled to be launched tomorrow morning
神舟八号计划于明晨发射

CHINA's unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8 is scheduled to be launched at 5:58am tomorrow, the spokesperson for China's manned space program announced today.
中国载人航天计划发言人在今天宣布，神舟八号无人飞船计划于明晨北京时间11月1日5时58分发射。

Today fuel will be added to the Long March-2F rocket which will carry Shenzhou-8 into orbit. The spacecraft is expected to perform China's first space docking with Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace-1, a space lab that was launched in September, Xinhua news agency reported today.
新华社今日的报道称，神舟八号将于今天完成运载火箭长征二号F型推进剂加注，神舟八号将在太空中与9月份发射的天宫一号空间试验站完成中国航天史上首次空间交会对接任务。

The spacecraft will be launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province.
神舟八号的发射地点为中国西北部的甘肃省酒泉卫星发射中心。

China's space program intensifies
中国加强太空计划

China's space projects have entered a stage of high-intensity development and launching, an aerospace expert in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center said on Sunday.
酒泉卫星发射中心的一位航天专家在周日表示，中国的太空计划已经进入了高强度开发和发射的新阶段。

While preparation work for the launch of Shenzhou-8 is in its final stages, testing on another satellite is going on at the assembly and testing center, 1.5 kilometers away from the launch pad.
随着神舟八号发射任务的准备工作进入最后阶段，另一颗卫星的的测试工作已经在装备和测试中心有条不紊地展开。该测试中心离发射台有1.5公里的距离。

China launched 15 rockets to send 20 satellites into space in 2010, comparable numbers to the United States and Russia, historically the world's two most prolific launchers of spacecraft, according to Yuan Jiajun, deputy general manager of China Aerospace and Technology Corp.
据中国航天科技集团的副总经理袁家军介绍，中国在2010年发射了15枚火箭，将20颗卫星送入了太空，即使与历史上两大宇宙飞船发射多产国美国和俄罗斯相比，也是相当可观的数据。

声明：双语文章中，中文翻译仅代表译者个人观点，仅供参考。如有不妥之处，欢迎指正。