CHINA: Young Space Elite Emerges From Manned Space Program

Tens of thousands of young Chinese professionals working for China's manned space project are becoming experienced and increasingly important for the country's future in the space sector, senior space experts say.

Qi Faren, 70, chief designer of China's spacecraft, said a group of well-educated young professionals with good managerial skills were trained during the development of the vessel, which is more valuable than the successful manned space mission itself.

China's first astronaut Yang Liwei returned to the Earth on Oct.16 after orbiting the planet 14 times in 21 hours, making China the third country capable of independently putting a person into space.

Space officials and experts say thousands of young professionals tempered in the 11-year-old project are an important human re

source for China's future space endeavors. About 80 percent of the engineers and technicians working for the space project are under 40, with some even under 30.

Liu Feng, 27, is the commander of the error inspection system for the carrier rocket for the project while Qin Wenbo, vice-chief designer of the spacecraft system, is only 37 years old.

The stars include rocket expert Zhang Qingwei, 42, deputy chief commander of the space project; Yuan Jiajun, 41, chief commander of the spacecraft system and president of the China Academy of Space Technology; and rocket expert Wu Yansheng, 39, president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

At the age of 40, Zhang Qingwei was appointed in 2001 general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which has 103,000 employees, and develops, among other things, the launch vehicle and spacecraft.

Zhang said two thirds of the 10,000 engineers and technicians in the corporation are young people.

"It was one of the objectives of the manned space program that the Chinese government set in 1992 to train a large group of young space engineers and technicians," said Zhang.

Wang Yongzhi, chief designer of China's manned space project, said the emergence of young space specialists in large numbers indicates the country's space program has a prosperous future.

According to China's manned space plan approved in 1992 by the Chinese government, China will set up a space laboratory and then a space station in the future.

China's successful manned spaceflight, marking the realization of a long-cherished dream of the nation, has undoubtedly brought about briskness to business-dealers. In so early as half a year before the launch, some enterprises rushed to join hands with China's aeronautic development. The moment when Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut, calmly set his foot onto the Chinese soil has made more businessmen wild with joy to pick up the "windfall from the space".

The success of China's manned spaceflight is an opportune chance for which many advertising agencies, which habitually like to jump on the bandwagon would never afford to lose. One week before and after the launch, relevant advertisements dominated the Tvs, newspapers, and networks.

"Sina.com yield a lot from the success of Shenzhou V." According to Mr. Lin, client's relationship controller in marketing section with sina.com, Shenzhou V generated at least 3m to 5m worth of revenue for his net. "Such an earning as from one feature is quite considerable to net media."

Mr. Lin told us that most of their clients in this influx brought about by Shenzhou V are related with aeronautics, such as Mengniu milk, the "designated milk for the astronauts", the "Great Wall" lubricant for the spacecraft and the jeep conveying the astronaut aboard the craft, and Shenzhou V souvenirs sellers, etc. Some enterprises, for example, Legend computer intending to improve its business image of a national brand and Bo'ao Forum for a ride on the successful liftoff. Feedback from the netizens showed that these advertisements are quite paid off. The efforts of brand building by these national enterprises as supporters of China's aeronautic course are very rewarding.

Served as the astronaut's diet, the homemade dishes, namely "Eight-treasure rice pudding", "fish-flavored shredded pork", and "spicy hot diced chicken and peanuts" are called the "space dinner" now. They turned extraordinarily popular in an overnight. Our reporter found that some restaurants were considering taking the advantage of the event when the space recipe was made public. A chef told the reporter: "It is common to adorn Shenzhou V model made of flour on a cold dish and our diners are very pleased with it."

This report was compiled from news reports written and translated by People's Daily

Nothing goes on this message board without government approval. Here's one - more at site.

People's Daily message board China power: posted: 10/10/2003 02:12 PM - Just in the last twelfth months, China has launched one of the world's most advanced Destroyer, started production on advanced Stealth fighter FC/1, now sending an astronaut into space. It's about time, China have more scientists and engineers than any nation in the world. As they say, if there are only 200 million Chinese in the world, it will be a force to be reckoned with, but can you imagine 1.27 billion Chinese!? Now it is the time to challenge the world!! China has awaken!, now it is our turn!!

Japs, beware!! Now is the time to pour money to build the world's most advanced navy and airforce, and yes of course, build space power to shoot down all of those GPS satelites. And yes, put only the smartest Chinese men and boys to man those technologically sophisticated weaponry, Chinese military's personnel quality is at all time high. [End]

NASA's workforce - NASA's mission?***NASA has serious personnel problems. Twenty-five percent of its scientists and engineers will be eligible to retire in the next three to five years, and, as the agency's workforce has been graying, few fresh-faced recruits have been coming through its doors. NASA needs to offer incentives to potential hires.

Scientists and engineers make up 60 percent of NASA's employees, so there's a great need to bring more in. However, universities are graduating fewer technicians than they used to, so there is a great deal of competition for them. While NASA cannot match the salaries in the private sector, it can offer a unique mission. As a consequence, a few additional incentives could be enough to tip skilled personnel into signing and staying at NASA - in spite of sub-standard compensation.

........While NASA scientists still have the ability to shoot for the moon (and further), their purpose can only come from the president. This is where Mr. Bush must step up, preferably at his next State of the Union. We again urge President Bush to announce his long-range goals for the manned space program during that speech, which will happen near the one-year anniversary of the Columbia tragedy. NASA is not likely to have a problem recruiting extraordinary people when it once again takes on extraordinary missions.***

Secrecy vexes Sino-US space ties***Yet the official responses to the Oct. 16 manned launch may hold clues to the future of international cooperation with the newest member of the space club, sources say. While Russia's Vladimir Putin was immediate and effusive, the official US reaction came only when President Bush met Chinese President Hu Jintao in Bangkok days later.

………. For all its value as a new addition to the planet's hopes for seeking out new forms of life and expanding the horizons of the known - the Shenzhou program is still quite solidly embedded in the Chinese military system, experts say. Yang was sent off by a military official, and greeted upon return by a military official. Indeed, the Shenzhou V recovery took place on the anniversary of China first successful nuclear weapons test in 1964, a symbol not lost on some Chinese commentators.

In the aftermath of the US led wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the Chinese military has taken note of US satellite systems that coordinate attacks. Sources say it is US satellites that most concern the Chinese. As Johnson-Freese put it in a paper delivered Friday at Harvard, "The Chinese, while advocating a treaty to ban space weapons, have also made no bones about working on anti-satellite technology. Kinetic energy weapons, jammers, parasite satellites that can surreptitiously attach themselves to other satellites, and high-powered ground-based lasers [have] all been on the Chinese menu of options being pursued. The Chinese are also interested in navigation satellites, which can enhance missile targeting capabilities."***

"The Chinese, while advocating a treaty to ban space weapons, have also made no bones about working on anti-satellite technology. Kinetic energy weapons, jammers, parasite satellites that can surreptitiously attach themselves to other satellites, and high-powered ground-based lasers [have] all been on the Chinese menu of options being pursued. The Chinese are also interested in navigation satellites, which can enhance missile targeting capabilities."

You bet. That's exactly why the Chinese are in space.

As an aside, when I go to the stores and see all the shelves full of unbelievably bogus-looking Christmas decorations made in China, I keep thinking, what in heaven's name is wrong with this picture - we can't even make our own Christmas decorations anymore? The ChiCom just keep on taking our dollars in exchange for garbage products, stealing our adavnced technology, and steadfastly beefing up their military and space technology. Everybody makes fun of the deal the Indians made exchanging beads for Manhattan but we go that one better, exchanging our future for a ton of cheap junk.

"Japs, beware!! Now is the time to pour money to build the world's most advanced navy and airforce, and yes of course, build space power to shoot down all of those GPS satelites. And yes, put only the smartest Chinese men and boys to man those technologically sophisticated weaponry, Chinese military's personnel quality is at all time high."

Except it helps to have a strong resilent economy to have a strong military, especially over the long haul. China is on the same path as the USSR. Milk ever dime out the populace to spend on the military and then the country goes broke. I think it is time for another arms race. Maybe even per Dr. Evil build a Freaking Moon Base. We have diffinently lost the taste for adventure and exchanged it for the comforts of socialization. We need to set high reaching goals and get behind it as a nation to regain all those young dreamers. That one day either want to be the one heading to the frontier or the one that helps build the means to get there.

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