China's first manned spacecraft

[VV o n g B a]

China's Great Leap Upward
By boosting astronauts into orbit, China hopes to become the newest superpower in space
By James Oberg

At the Jiuquan Space Center near the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China, Shenzhou 5 is being readied for launch. The spacecraft--its name means "divine vessel" in Chinese--is nearly nine meters long and weighs almost eight metric tons. Sometime this fall, Shenzhou 5 is scheduled to blast into orbit atop a Chang Zheng ("Long March") rocket. Four earlier Shenzhou spacecraft have already made orbital flights, but unlike those unmanned test vehicles, Shenzhou 5 is expected to carry a crew of up to three young Chinese military pilots. If all goes as planned, China will become the third nation to send people into space.
Although representatives of three dozen countries have gone into orbit since the dawn of the space age, they have all traveled on board either American or Russian spacecraft. In pursuing its own human spaceflight program, China has acquired and adapted some technologies that were originally developed in Russia and the U.S. Many features of the Shenzhou seem familiar to

space experts; at first glance, the craft looks like a slightly bigger version of the Russian Soyuz vessel. But China's space agency built several key systems on its own, and in some ways the Shenzhou is technologically superior to the Soyuz.

The first manned flight of the Shenzhou will have profound diplomatic echoes. In addition to garnering international prestige, China hopes that the program will stimulate advances in the country's aerospace, computer and electronics industries. If the initial missions are successful, China will probably establish its own space station in Earth orbit. Within a decade, China's space activities may well surpass those of Russia and the European Space Agency. And if China becomes the most important space power after the U.S., an entirely new "space race" may be in the offing.

continued here:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?cha...5980A84189EEDF

[SunWuKong]

surpass Russia within a decade? that's probably a little too optimistic.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

The spacecraft--its name means "divine vessel" in Chinese

神舟? Wow this whole time I never knew how it was written. I'm highly disappointed in the officially atheist Communist Party ... but I guess it's a decently clever pun.

[mr. x]

man even Nigeria has a satellite

sheesh, everyones in space now

[Ogumo]

Originally Posted by mr. x

man even Nigeria has a satellite

sheesh, everyones in space now

What the hell is nigeria doing with a satelite? It seems almost as crazy as ethiopia buying those 40 MiGs.

[Cipherous]

Originally Posted by SunWuKong

surpass Russia within a decade? that's probably a little too optimistic.

word.

I am wondering who the author's intended audience is.

[SunWuKong]

Outer space becomes multipolar
By Jamie Miyazaki

The scheduled October 30 signing by China and the European Union to open the way for China to take a substantial financial role in Europe's nearly US$4 billion Galileo navigation-satellite project could be interpreted as a direct shot across the bow of the United States as the world's sole, undisputed military and economic superpower in outer space. Nor is it going to be the last.

The French, the Chinese and the Russians are all pushing for the emergence of a multipolar world to counter the United States' supremacy as a so-called hyperpower. The EU, spurred primarily by French efforts, for decades has actively challenged US dominance in the strategically important aerospace industry through Airbus Industrie and the Ariane space-rocket program. The EU's next serious challenge to US supremacy looks set to be the lucrative navigation-satellite industry currently monopolized by the United States-based Global Positioning System (GPS). But in order to attain this, the EU has had to rely on help from Beijing.

The joint EU-China agreement, scheduled to be signed at the summit between China and the European Union, provides for cooperation on satellite navigation over a wide range of scientific and technological sectors, industrial manufacturing, service and market development and other issues. What it really does, however, is go into deep Chinese pockets for substantial financial help through a stakeholding in the project.

If all goes as scheduled, Galileo would loft a constellation of 30 stationary satellites 23,000 kilometers into the sky as a counterweight to GPS, the current state of play in satellite location technology. Planned to be operational by 2008 at a cost of 3.3 billion euros ($3.85 billion), Galileo is designed to counter the effective US monopoly on navigation satellite technology with improved accuracy that, as a civilian system, won't be subject to government blocking.


more...

[mr. x]

Originally Posted by Ogumo

What the hell is nigeria doing with a satelite? It seems almost as crazy as ethiopia buying those 40 MiGs.

my guess is its to look good but the excuse was monitoring the eco so and so

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally Posted by radiobum

They'll soon find out if the Moon is made of cheese

great, let's hope they didn't choose lactose-intolerant crew or they're gonna be farting all the way home in a very tightly enclosed space.

[Green_Circle]

Originally Posted by radiobum

Whilst it makes me damn proud to be a Chinese over this achievement, I kinda have mixed feelings towards this space program.

You know, the gigantic sum of monies that were invested in this project could well be used on education and to fight proverty in other parts of China.

Anyway, I guess the significance of sending your own man into space overtakes other priorities.

They'll soon find out if the Moon is made of cheese :)

Let's begin the countdown - GO TAIKONAUTS!!!

Please have no guilt. They just needed an aerial view of the Great Wall.

[Ogumo]

I guess this is the begining of the sino nippon space race.

[TyroneK(prettypretty)]

Every nation needs their propoganda victories.

Also, space programs help fuel innovation in other industrial sectors. It kick-starts scientists and engineers to come up with technology that often has practical applications elsewhere (like Velcro, Contact, etc...)

It's not a complete impractical waste of money. If it helps China develop and find ways to use its enormous population in an economically productive way, more power to the program.

[Green_Circle]

Just an observation but seems like only those interested in superpowerism are engaged in space exploration. Just look at the players.

[SunWuKong]

Originally Posted by Green_Circle

Just an observation but seems like only those interested in superpowerism are engaged in space exploration. Just look at the players.

and those with no hope of achieving super-power status also has no resources to pursue a space program. it all depends on how you look at it.

[SunWuKong]

merging with another thread...