| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"maff" |
| Date: |
12 Oct 2005 03:56:09 AM |
| Object: |
Shenzhou |
China set for second manned launch
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article318842.ece
By David Eimer in Beijing
Published: 12 October 2005
China has come a long way since 1957, when its leader Mao Tse-tung
bemoaned the fact that the country was unable tosend even a potato into
space.
Today, Shenzhou VI, China's second manned space mission, is expected to
blast off from the edge of the Gobi desert. A successful launch will
make China only the third nation, after the US and the former Soviet
Union, to have sent humans into orbit twice.
Although China's National Space Administration refused to confirm the
launch, the Xinhua news agency reported that, barring bad weather,
Shenzhou VI would lift off from the Jiuqan satellite launch centre in
Gansu province. The spacecraft will have a crew of two taikonauts
(astronauts) on board for a five-day mission. Chinese media named them
as Zhai Zigang and Nie Haisheng, both fighter pilots selected from a
pool of 14 candidates.
China sent its first man, Yang Liwei, into space in October 2003,
prompting ecstatic celebrations across the country. He spent just 21
hours in orbit, a sign of how far behind the US and Russia the Chinese
space programme is, but the Shenzhou VI mission is a significant step
forward.
"The technology isn't exactly breakthrough, but by being able to put it
all together and make it work, China is sending a message that it has
the integration skills, the follow-through capability, to build this
kind of technology," said David Baker, a space analyst with Jane's
Defence Weekly. China plans to start building its own space station
within five years and to send an unmanned probe to the Moon by 2010.
Despite its late entry into the field of manned spaceflight, China has
had a space programme since 1958 and put its first satellite into orbit
in April 1970. Based at Jiuqan, a closely guarded and remote city near
Inner Mongolia, some 15,000 scientists and technicians work on the
programme. Its budget is a state secret, but is believed to be in the
region of $2bn (=A31.1bn) a year, a fraction of Nasa's $16.2bn annual
budget.
China has come a long way since 1957, when its leader Mao Tse-tung
bemoaned the fact that the country was unable tosend even a potato into
space.
Today, Shenzhou VI, China's second manned space mission, is expected to
blast off from the edge of the Gobi desert. A successful launch will
make China only the third nation, after the US and the former Soviet
Union, to have sent humans into orbit twice.
Shenzhou
http://news.google.com/news?num=3D100&hl=3Den&lr=3D&ie=3DUTF-8&oe=3DUTF-8&q=
=3DShenzhou&sa=3DN&tab=3Dgn
http://www.google.com/search?num=3D100&hl=3Den&ie=3DUTF-8&oe=3DUTF-8&q=3DSh=
enzhou&sa=3DN&tab=3Dnw
http://www.google.com/search?num=3D100&hl=3Den&lr=3D&ie=3DUTF-8&oe=3DUTF-8&=
q=3DShenzhou&sa=3DN&tab=3Dwd&cat=3Dgwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_q=3DShenzhou&safe=3Dimages&ie=3DUTF-8&oe=
=3DUTF-8&as_scoring=3Dd&lr=3D&num=3D100&hl=3Den
Is the wakening giant a monster?
http://tinyurl.com/iws6
A Blueprint for the Future
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.atheism/msg/59c28cd6dfe6f60f
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