kitty
01-10-2004, 12:23 PM
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/01/09/china.astronauts.ap/index.html
China to launch next astronaut in 2005?
BEIJING, China (AP) -- China's next manned spacecraft will be launched next year and will carry more than one astronaut, a newspaper said Friday, nearly three months after the nation put its first man into orbit.
The Chengdu Evening News in western China's Sichuan province said Shenzhou 6 would stay in space for more than one day.
The newspaper said Shenzhou 6 will blast off in the second half of next year. It cited Huang Chunping, general director of Shenzhou 5, China's first manned spacecraft.
The story was also picked up by the online edition of People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, amplifying the report significantly.
The newspaper covers the space program closely because a key aerospace company is located in Chengdu, and one of China's rocket-launching bases is nearby.
"The successful launch of Shenzhou 5 not only boosted national pride but injected confidence into the research of the next spacecraft. Shenzhou 6 will carry more than one astronaut and stay more than one day in space," People's Daily said, citing Huang.
It said he spoke "very affirmatively" about the issue.
In October, astronaut Yang Liwei became a national hero when he returned from a one-day orbital mission in Shenzhou 5. On the same day, it announced plans for a space station.
China says it also expects to launch 10 large-scale satellites this year.
Congratulates U.S. on Mars mission
Separately, China's Foreign Ministry congratulated the United States for landing an unmanned Mars probe and, following reports of U.S. plans to create a moon base and a human Mars trip, expressed hope that space exploration "will continuously achieve new progress."
The comments came at the request of The Associated Press, which had asked for China's response to reports the United States could be poised to announce plans to build a permanent science base on the moon -- a possible steppingstone for sending astronauts to Mars.
"The Chinese side congratulates the Americans on the successful landing of the 'Spirit' probe," the Foreign Ministry said. "We hope that the human exploration of space will continuously achieve new progress."
It didn't directly address the reports about the moon base and possible eventual Mars mission.
China says it wants to conduct moon missions but does not expect them to include human beings.
China and the United States are two of the three nations to successfully launch humans into space. The other is Russia, which accomplished the feat when it was under the banner of the Soviet Union.
China to launch next astronaut in 2005?
BEIJING, China (AP) -- China's next manned spacecraft will be launched next year and will carry more than one astronaut, a newspaper said Friday, nearly three months after the nation put its first man into orbit.
The Chengdu Evening News in western China's Sichuan province said Shenzhou 6 would stay in space for more than one day.
The newspaper said Shenzhou 6 will blast off in the second half of next year. It cited Huang Chunping, general director of Shenzhou 5, China's first manned spacecraft.
The story was also picked up by the online edition of People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper, amplifying the report significantly.
The newspaper covers the space program closely because a key aerospace company is located in Chengdu, and one of China's rocket-launching bases is nearby.
"The successful launch of Shenzhou 5 not only boosted national pride but injected confidence into the research of the next spacecraft. Shenzhou 6 will carry more than one astronaut and stay more than one day in space," People's Daily said, citing Huang.
It said he spoke "very affirmatively" about the issue.
In October, astronaut Yang Liwei became a national hero when he returned from a one-day orbital mission in Shenzhou 5. On the same day, it announced plans for a space station.
China says it also expects to launch 10 large-scale satellites this year.
Congratulates U.S. on Mars mission
Separately, China's Foreign Ministry congratulated the United States for landing an unmanned Mars probe and, following reports of U.S. plans to create a moon base and a human Mars trip, expressed hope that space exploration "will continuously achieve new progress."
The comments came at the request of The Associated Press, which had asked for China's response to reports the United States could be poised to announce plans to build a permanent science base on the moon -- a possible steppingstone for sending astronauts to Mars.
"The Chinese side congratulates the Americans on the successful landing of the 'Spirit' probe," the Foreign Ministry said. "We hope that the human exploration of space will continuously achieve new progress."
It didn't directly address the reports about the moon base and possible eventual Mars mission.
China says it wants to conduct moon missions but does not expect them to include human beings.
China and the United States are two of the three nations to successfully launch humans into space. The other is Russia, which accomplished the feat when it was under the banner of the Soviet Union.