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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...

Shenzhou-5 Launcher Ready For Transfer To Jiuquan Launch Site by Hou Yi, Hong Kong - Aug 11, 2003 The Changzheng-2F (Long March-2F) launcher that will deliver the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft into orbit will likely be ready to leave for the launch center within the last ten days of this month, local newspaper Ta Kung Pao reported on Sunday (Aug. 3). According to sources at the Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), which is the manufacturer of CZ-2F in Beijing, a team of technicians would accompany the shipment of the launcher to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) in the...

China Plans Heavy Lifter To Launch Space Station And More Beijing - Mar 14, 2002 - People's Daily China is preparing for intensified space missions and international satellite launch services by developing a new family of powerful launch vehicles, senior aerospace officials said Wednesday in Beijing. Such carrier rockets will be used to launch a 20-ton, permanently manned space station, said Zhang Qingwei, president of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC). To realize its goal of exploring outer space and expanding shares in the global satellite launch market, China has stepped up the design and development of carrier...

Shenzhou-3 On The Pad Awaiting Launch by Wei Long Beijing - Mar 12, 2002 Senior Chinese officials have confirmed that the Changzheng-2F (Long March-2F) launcher with the Shenzhou-3 (SZ-3, Shenzhou means quot;Magic Vesselquot; or quot;Divine Vesselquot;) spacecraft on board is now standing at a Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) launch pad. The confirmation came last week here during the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC) and the Ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Last Wednesday (Mar. 6) China News Service reported Hu Shixiang, Deputy Minister of the General Armament Department of...