Posted on 12/23/2002 3:18:21 PM PST by RightWhale
Shenzhou-4 Blastoff Within Fortnight
by Wei Long
Beijing - Dec 23, 2002
Shenzhou-4 is ready to launch between Christmas and New Year, the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po reported last Wednesday (Dec. 18).
Based on information obtained from unidentified sources, the newspaper said that the fourth, and perhaps the last, unmanned test mission of Shenzhou would very likely be launched in this timeframe.
The Changzheng-2F (CZ-2F or Long March 2F) launcher is now standing on the pad waiting for the liftoff. Weather at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) and its surrounding area has been favourable. The launch centre, in the northwestern Gansu Province, is where the Shenzhou-4 (SZ-4, Shenzhou means "Magic Vessel" or "Divine Vessel") spacecraft integrated with its "Shenjian" launcher.
President Jiang Zemin gave the name "Shenjian" to CZ-2F after the successful launch of the SZ-3 mission. "Shenjian" means "Magic Arrow" or "Divine Arrow".
The sources said that a successful SZ-4 mission would set the stage for the first manned flight on SZ-5.
With preparation for the launch of SZ-4 reaching the final stage, Chinese space scientists recently released some details of the science payloads on the mission. Science Times reported on Dec. 6 that fifty-two science payloads would ride on SZ-4. Among the collection of payloads, 33 of them would make the first trip into space. An unidentified official from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) told the newspaper that the science investigation would cover four main areas: microwave Earth observation, space environment monitoring, microgravity fluid physics, and biological technology research.
SZ-4 will circle the Earth 108 times in a 7-day primary mission. Its operational circular orbit will be 343 km high, the same as that of the SZ-3 primary mission.
The microgravity fluid physics and biological technology research experiments will be in operation in the Descent Module for much of the primary mission. Intersperse with these experiments will be Earth observing and space environment monitoring activities. When the primary mission ends, experiments in the Descent Module will return to Earth. The Orbital Module and the appendage section at the front of the module will stay in space for extended operation. The extended mission will continue microwave observations of the Earth and data collection on the space environment near the Orbital Module.
New Capability In Earth Observation
Less than half of the science payloads had been flown on previous Shenzhou missions. Examples of these are a large-capacity memory storage common facility in the Orbital Module, an atmospheric composition detector, and a microgravity gauge.
Among the 33 new science payloads that will fly for the first time include a multimodal microwave remote sensor, a cell electrofusion instrument, and a high-energy proton and heavy ion detector. The microwave remote sensing instrument will make observations of the ocean, the atmosphere and the land regardless of the weather and lighting condition, as microwave radiation can penetrate cloud cover and operate in darkness. Monitoring the space environment and forecasting its changes is an important aspect of manned spaceflight to ensure the safety of the yuhangyuans ("astronauts"). The set of comprehensive space environment monitoring experiments will make its third flight into space. As on the SZ-2 and SZ-3 missions, the experiments will study the tenuous upper atmosphere of the Earth and collect data on the space environment at the orbital altitude of the spacecraft. New additions to the set of experiments on SZ-4 are sensors to detect both high-energy and low-energy radiation.
First Flight For Fluid Physics And Cell Fusion Study
The study of fluid physics in the microgravity environment will make its first space appearance on SZ-4.
CAS physicists said that besides the importance to understand theoretically fluid behaviour in microgravity, such as the dynamics of fluid droplets and gas bubbles transfer, its practical application in material processing and welding in space would also be essential. On SZ-4 a domestically designed and built fluid experiment common equipment will perform investigation in fluid droplets transfer. CAS physicists hope to gain insight and achieve breakthrough in the relevant theories from these experiments.
In biological science studies, there will be experiments to research on biological macromolecule and cell separation and purification technology. One of the new biotech experiments will be studying cell fusion using an electrofusion instrument.
The instrument will perform experiments to fuse two sets of different cells: B-lymphocyte and myeloma from mice in one set, and protoplasts from two kinds of tobacco in the other set. The Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS) is the sponsor of the experiment, which has been a decade in the making. SIBS is one of the many affiliate research institutions of CAS.
Liu Chengxian, leader of the microgravity research group at SIBS, described the cell fusion experiment in an interview published on Nov. 28 in the Shanghai newspaper Wen Hui Bao. Liu said that the instrument would emit an electric field to move the two distinct types of cells closer to each other until they come into contact and transfer cell material, or "fuse".
Assistant researcher Dr. Zheng Huiqiong further explained that when the cells come into contact, the electrofusion instrument would then generate electric field pulses to induce microscopic pathways, or pores, in the cell membranes. This process of inducing pores -- called electroporation -- allows transfer of material, such as DNA and molecules, to complete the fusion. In a common fusion experiment involving myeloma and B-lymphocyte cells from mice, the electrofusion instrument induces a malignant tumor cell myeloma to fuse with a B-lymphocyte cell that has been immunized with a specific antigen from the spleen. The resulting hybrid cell, or hybridoma, will have the characteristics of the tumor cell and the ability to produce a specific antibody, which is referred to as a monoclonal antibody.
Dr. Zheng said that fusion of cells of different densities would normally be challenging on Earth because of the difficulty in bringing the cells to the same plane for the interaction. But such difficulty would disappear in the microgravity environment of space. Liu hoped that the successful fusion of myeloma and B-lymphocyte cells would allow scientists to extract Hepatitis B antibodies from the secretion of the hybrid cells.
The mice and tobacco for the experiment had been airlifted to JSLC several weeks ago according to Dr. Zheng, who just returned from the launch centre. Technicians there have been providing care to the precious cargo. At T minus 8 hours, technicians will load the mice and tobacco cell samples on to the spacecraft. The samples will be the last payload to board SZ-4.
Seeds Exposure To Radiation
Like the previous three Shenzhou missions, SZ-4 will carry a variety of seeds simply to expose them to cosmic radiation. Chinese scientists claim that exposure to strong radiation, microgravity condition and varying magnetic field strength in space would cause seeds to undergo genetic change.
When the space seeds are planted back on Earth, they would produce agricultural crops that are taller, stronger and more resistant to diseases and pests. The yield would be 10 to 20 percent higher and of better quality. The Sichuan newspaper Tianfu Morning News reported on Nov. 25 that Nanchong Aerospace Agriculture Company would provide fifteen varieties of seeds of vegetable, grain crop, flower, plant, and traditional Chinese medicinal herb for the mission.
Among the traditional Chinese medicinal herbs that will ride on SZ-4 are three grams of each of tuber of pinellia (Pinellia ternata) and rhizome of Chinese goldthread (Coptis Chinensis) from the Sichuan Province. Beijing Youth Daily said on Dec. 17 that 100 seeds of the flower peony, the semi-official national flower of China, would fly on SZ-4. The seeds came from the peony production management office in the city of Luoyang in the Henan Province. In spring each year Luoyang hosts a 10-day peony festival and trade show.
Previously Wen Wei Po reported on Aug. 24 that Tian Xiang Ecoagriculture Development Company in the city of Panzhihua, Sichuan Province, would supply seeds of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs, biological products, and cash crops to go on SZ-4.
On another facet of the problem:
The way to stop these "Apollo Hoax" conspiracists is obviously to go back to the moon.
Tell Bush to open up the frontiers again.
Been saying that since I registered on FreeRepublic. Maybe Bush doesn't read FR. We know that most radio personalities do read FR and probably some White House staff also read FR.
It probably has to start in the House of Representatives and the White House will join in once they see which way the wind blows.
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