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China's Second Manned Space Flight To Blast Off In September
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/china-04zzzu.html
China's Second Manned Space Flight To Blast Off In September Glory be our Shen Zhou by Cindy Sui Beijing (AFP) Dec 23, 2004 China's second manned space flight will blast off next September with two astronauts circling the Earth for five days to reinforce the country's status as a major space power, state media said Thursday. "Shenzhou VI is scheduled to be launched in September next year," Huang Chunping, chief commander of China's first manned spaceflight, was quoted as saying by the Beijing News. Officials had previously said the launch would be next autumn but had not revealed the month. Fourteen astronauts, including Yang Liwei who made China's maiden voyage on the Shenzhou V in October last year, have undergone seven days of simulated weightlessness and other exercises to accustom them to the design of the spacecraft, reports said. "Everything is going according to plan ... The training is very successful and is first-rate," Yang told the Beijing Youth Daily. "The astronauts will be able to complete their training duties on time and meet the requirements to greet Shenzhou VI's launching next year." Shenzhou VI will orbit the Earth for five days, unlike Yang's solo mission which circled the globe for just 21 hours, the reports said. The vehicle has a heavier capsule than Shenzhou V and can carry 200 kilograms (440 pounds) more weight, they said. While Yang remained seated during the entire flight, the next astronauts will leave the return capsule and enter the orbital capsule to conduct scientific experiments. The mission is set to cement China's place alongside the United States and the former Soviet Union as the only nations to send men into orbit. Despite its achievements, China remains excluded from the US-led partnership in the International Space Station confined currently to Canada, Japan, Russia, 11 nations of the European Space Agency and Brazil. At a landmark meeting in Washington this month, China National Space Administration chief Sun Laiyan held talks with National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) administrator Sean O'Keefe. It was made clear that NASA was "constrained in its ability to discuss new civil space cooperation until China addresses US weapons technology proliferation concerns," said NASA spokeswoman Debra Rahn. Analysts said they did not expect scientific breakthroughs from the new mission despite its added complexities. "It's a very long-term process. If you look at the American space program, it started in the 1950s, 50 years later they are still developing it," said Robert Karniol, Asia correspondent for Jane's Defense Weekly. The main objective would be for China to gain further experience in its march towards building a space station and achieving other space capabilities, said Chen Lan, an independent Chinese analyst. "There won't be much concrete results," said Chen. "There's a long road ahead." China, keenly aware of the military, scientific and commercial benefits of space know-how, has been aggressively pursuing space exploration for decades and has taken great leaps forward. In addition to last year's manned flight, it has launched communication and reconnaissance satellites and is developing its own global positioning satellites. Karniol said the manned space mission was integral to China's development of more sophisticated satellite technology, partly for military use. "China is trying to develop much more sophisticated satellites primarily used for reconnaisance, or spying, and communication," he said. Since its space program was set up in 1992 it has grown to employ tens of thousands of scientific, manufacturing and planning personnel in more than 3,000 factories. All rights reserved. © 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. -- -------------- Jacques :-) www.spacepatches.info |
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