Posted: Fri, Nov 18, 2011, 7:18 AM ET (1218 GMT)
An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft that tested docking technology returned to Earth on Thursday. The Shenzhou-8 spacecraft landed in China's Inner Mongolia region at 6:30 am EST (1130 GMT, 7:30 pm Beijing time) Thursday. Shenzhou-8 launched on November 1 and docked with the Tiangong-1 module two days later. That marked the first docking of two Chinese spacecraft, a key milestone for China's long-term plans to develop a space station. Shenzhou-8 undocked and redocked with Tiangong-8 Monday before undocking for the final time on Wednesday.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  BBC article
•  AP article
•  Xinhua article