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Excerpt - Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang slipped out of the orbital module of Shenzhou-7 Saturday afternoon, starting China's first spacewalk or extravehicular activity (EVA) in the outer space. "Shenzhou-7 is now outside the spacecraft. I feel well. I am here greeting the Chinese people and people of the whole world," the taikonaut reported to the ground control in Beijing, where Chinese President Hu Jintao watched the proceedings with country's top space scientists. Donning a 4-million-U.S.dollar homemade Feitian space suit, Zhai waved to the camera mounted on the service module after pulling himself out of the capsule in a head-out-first position...

China's next Shenzhou spacecraft to launch astronauts into orbit is under construction as officials draw up plans for the 2008 space shot, the country’s state-run media reported Friday. The country's next crewed spaceflight, Shenzhou 7, is slated to launch three astronauts spaceward and include at least one spacewalk as China moves forward with plans to build an orbital space station. “All the equipment of the separate systems has been delivered to China’s space aviation center for assembly,” Qi Faren, chief designer of China’s first five Shenzhou spacecraft, was quoted as saying by the Xinhua News Agency. Qi spoke at China’s...

BEIJING, Sept. 12 -- China plans to launch its second manned space mission after the National Day holiday next month, AFP cited Beijing News as reporting. The spacecraft Shenzhou VI will be launched, after the October 1-7 holiday, from the Jiuquan Space Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu province, using a Long March 2F rocket, the report said. Different from the Shenzhou V, which was a solo flight that lasted 21 hours in October 2003, Shenzhou VI will carry two astronauts and stay in space for 119 hours, or five days. Technical officials have arrived at the Jiuquan launching base,...

China's second manned space mission - called Shenzhou VI - will launch in early October, a state newspaper has reported. This time, authorities will send two astronauts into space and they will orbit the Earth for five or six days. "The manned spacecraft Shenzhou VI will ... preferably be launched in early October," Sun Weigang, director of the Space Department of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, told the China Daily. China's first manned space flight two years ago made it the third country able to launch a human into space on its own, along with Russia and the...

The next Chinese astronaut launch is drawing closer. Shenzhou 6 will take off in a few months (probably October) with a two-man crew on board. The mission will stay aloft for roughly five days, representing an approximately tenfold increase in China's total man-hours aloft from the previous mission. China has stated that the mission will feature easily removable spacesuits, enabling the crew to operate in shirtsleeve comfort for much of the mission. They will also make use of the relatively spacious Orbital Module at the front of the spacecraft, providing extra room for the astronauts and their equipment. China has...

Beware the Military Agenda Behind ShenzhouBy RICHARD D. FISHER JR. The successful launch of the Shenzhou V will inevitably lead to calls for greater American and European cooperation with China in space. This would be unwise, as any space cooperation with China is bound to assist its considerable military-space ambitions, which are already being fed by Russian and European technology. Let there be no doubt: China's ambitious manned space program is at least as tied to military-space warfare goals as is the case in the United States. Perhaps even more so. After all, the U.S. National Air and Space Administration...

China bans coverage of blast-off By Catherine Armitage, China correspondent15oct03 China can only hope its first manned spacecraft, expected to orbit Earth for 23 hours after a probable launch this morning, is better at spin than its Government. In the elite two-nation club of spacefaring nations, disaster comes with the territory. But fear that a mishap will turn its biggest propaganda event in years into a public-relations catastrophe seems to have prompted the Chinese Government to ban live coverage of the launch from the remote Gobi desert site. That, inevitably, has become the story, in the non-official media at...

China Details Space Safety Measures for Manned Missions By Associated Press posted: 04:10 pm ET 31 March 2003 BEIJING (AP) -- China has installed comprehensive safety systems allowing its "taikonauts" to escape their spacecraft if there is an emergency, state media said Monday. China is planning its first space launch later this year and said the safety measures are meant to prevent a disaster similar to that which destroyed the space shuttle Columbia Feb. 1 as it re-entered the atmosphere. Seven astronauts were killed. The safety systems are designed to rescue taikonauts from danger or mishaps at any time during...

China's first astronaut revealed By Dr David Whitehouse BBC News Online science editor China has revealed the identity of its first astronaut who will go into space by the end of the year. He is Chen Long, a trained pilot who was selected for astronaut training in 1996. Chinese authorities have released a picture of him in training at the time of the Shenzhou 4 launch in January 2003. According to the Hong Kong newspaper Sing Tao Daily, he will be the only crew member aboard Shenzhou 5, the first Chinese manned spaceflight, planned for October 2003. There has been...

by Sibing He Kailua-Kona - Mar 07, 2003 The Shenzhou spacecraft carries equipment for military surveillance, said Zhang Houying, human spaceflight application system commander at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a lecture on China's human spaceflight technology application delivered 15 February at the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing, according to an article by the 21st Century Global Report posted 25 February on Xinhuanet, a website run by the state media Xinhua (new China) news agency. The Shenzhou-5 will carry a CCD camera capable of obtaining imagery with ground resolution up to 1.6 meters mainly for military...

China Launches 4th Unmanned Space Capsule BEIJING - China's fourth unmanned space capsule blasted into orbit early Monday in a test launch that soon could lead to a manned flight, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The Shenzhou IV spacecraft blasted off at 12:40 a.m. local time from a launch pad in the Gobi desert and entered a preset orbit, Xinhua said. It did not say when the craft would return. The capsule carries all the equipment for manned flight, and life support and other systems will be tested while it is in orbit, Xinhua said. Beijing has invested prestige...

SPACE WIREChina launches fourth unmanned spacecraft JIUQUAN, China (AFP) Dec 29, 2002 China early Monday successfully launched its fourth unmanned spacecraft, the "Shenzhou IV", from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest Gansu province, state media reported.The official Xinhua news agency said the spacecraft was sent into a preset orbit by a "Long MarchII F" carrier rocket, which blasted off at 00:40 am (1640 GMT Sunday).Space scientists at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center said the "Shenzhou IV" successfully entered its preset orbit.Su Shuangning, commander and leading designer of the astronaut system for China's manned space program, said Chinese...

JIUQUAN, Gansu, Dec. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Senior Chinese leaders watched the launch of China's fourth unmanned spacecraft "ShenzhenIV" early Monday morning at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. They included China's top legislator Li Peng, Vice-Premier Wu Bangguo, and Jia Qinglin Wu and Jia are members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. Other high-ranking officials at the site were Cao Gangchuan, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission; Song Jian, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; and Li Jinai, head of the...

China launches third unmanned space vehicle BEIJING (AFP) Mar 25, 2002 China has successfully launched its third unmanned space vehicle, the country's official newsagency reported late Monday. According to Xinhua reports, the "Shenzhou III" blasted off Monday night at 2200 local time (1400 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province. Scientists at the Beijing Aerospace Directing and Controlling Center told Xinhua the launch went ahead according to plan and that the vehicle had arrived at a preset orbit. Chinese President Jiang Zemin observed the aunch of the Long March II F rocket which reportedly...