VIENNA - The UN Office for Outer Space Affairs on Thursday congratulated China on the successful docking of the Shenzhou VIII spacecraft with the Tiangong-1 space laboratory.

Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs Mazlan Othman wrote to Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations on the event.

"On behalf of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, I would like to extend to the People's Republic of China our congratulations on the successful docking of the unmanned Shenzhou VIII spacecraft with the Tiangong space laboratory," wrote Othman in her letter.

Othman said she believed that the success of docking paved the way for future manned Shenzhou missions.

Othman said that the Office looked forward to the next phase of China's manned spaceflight program and she was "encouraged by China's strong commitment to international cooperation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space."

China's unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou VIII and its space lab module Tiangong-1 rendezvoused early Thursday, successfully completing the country's first-ever space docking.