Commander in chief of China's manned space program Chang Wanquan announced Thursday evening that the nation's first-ever space rendezvous and docking mission was a complete success.

Unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou-8 landed safely by parachute Thursday evening in China's northern grasslands.

Launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province on November 1, Shenzhou-8 successfully rendezvoused and docked twice with the Tiangong-1 space lab module, which was launched from the same site on September 29.

The safe return of Shenzhou-8 to Earth marked the end of the 49-day space docking mission, which will pave the way for China's establishment of a manned space station around 2020.

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2011)