Shenzhou 7 Neared ISS

[CitizenPaine]

First read about this in a hardcopy of SpaceNews, thought I would draw some attention to it, since I didn't see anything about it in the S-7 thread.
http://www.livescience.com/blogs/2008/10/16/chinas-shenzhou-7-debate-over-mission-messages/

 

[garyw]

It made 25km pass but in a completly different orbital plane:

"To do that, Shenzhou would have to demonstrate a slightly higher inclination (51.6 degrees versus 42.4 degrees for the last three piloted Chinese flights). They already have the altitude needed."

So without a massive plane change burn it wouldn't have gotten close enough to dock.

 

[tblaxland]

So without a massive plane change burn it wouldn't have gotten close enough to dock.

I think the point the author was trying to make was that they could launch to the ISS (without a plane change) if they made "a modest modification to their booster". The increase in dV may not be such a simple task however, depending on how close the booster already is to its limits.

 

[garyw]

True enough. I wonder what the Delta-V budget is for the Shenzou and how much of a weight trade is off is required to get to the ISS?