China Aims At Five-Day Space Shot

[zavvy]

<b>China Aims At Five-Day Space Shot</b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />China's second manned space flight will carry two astronauts into space and will orbit the Earth for five days. <br /><br />The country's space authorities made the announcement about the mission, which is scheduled for next year, at an air show in China's Guangzhou Province. <br /><br />Mission scientists said they have been working to optimise the performance, safety and reliability of the spacecraft, named Shenzhou VI. <br /><br />China's first manned mission, Shenzhou V, launched into space in October 2003.<br /><br />However, that mission flew with a single astronaut - a fighter pilot called Yang Liwei - and lasted just over 21 hours. <br /><br />In order to create a craft capable of orbiting in space for five days, scientists say they have been trying to reduce weight and improve the performance of onboad instrumentation. <br /><br />They have also been working to provide a guaranteed energy supply and solve other problems related to environmental control and life support. <br /><br />National breakthrough <br /><br />"The spacecraft will make new breakthroughs in China's manned space technology," said a spokesperson for China Aerospace Science and Technology (Cast). <br /><br />An official statement from Cast said: <br /><br />"For the first time, astronauts will enter and live in the orbital module of the spacecraft to do scientific experiments." <br /><br />The agency did not specify what those experiments would be. <br /><br />Shenzhou VI will be launched into orbit aboard a Long March 2F rocket. It will consist of three modules for launch, orbit and re-entry. <br /><br />China plans to send a satellite called Chang'e-1 into orbit around the Moon in two years. <br /><br />The satellite, which is part of a planned three-stage programme, would be followed by the landing of an unmanned vehicle on the Moon by 2010 and a sample return mission by

 

[flynn]

Perhaps, they seem to be setting a nice pace. I think they realise they are in a marathon and not a sprint. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[omegamogo]

Go china! The middle kingdom is migrating to space <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />I just hope they keep the space program centered on science, not military applications.

 

[omegamogo]

andreash,<br /><br />Some info I found on the Chang'e program.<br /><br />From the Artical:<br /><br /><i>The Chang'e 1 satellite will carry 24 pieces of lunar probe equipment, including CCD three-dimensional cameras, microprobe instruments and a high-energy sun particle detector. According to the design, the satellite will weigh 2,350 kg, with a 130 kg of payload, and will orbit the moon for one year.<br /><br />The rocket used to launch the spacecraft will be China's Long March 3A, which will launch Chang'e 1 from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province.</i>

 

[thalion]

At this rate, they'll have their equivalent of Skylab in 50 years.<br /><br />Just kidding, of course; I wish them the best of luck in the final frontier.

 

[brand1130]

cool

 

[flynn]

Wonder whats happened to 6221oak? Dude hasn't posted since July, and used to keep us well informed on the Chinese space program. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[Aetius]

I think this is awesome. Even if the space programs funded by Washington and Brussels falter, this gives me hope that the human colonization of the solar system is an inevitability, barring some catastrophe.<br /><br />Go yuhangyuans!