Chinese spacewalk and spaceship Shenzhou VII: news

[gpit]

Chinese taikonauts report they feel "physically sound"

The video grab taken on Sept. 25, 2008 at the Beijing Space Command and Control Center in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonauts in the return module of the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft. (Xinhua Photo)

 

[kvLin]

I was at a badminton match and failed to catch the live show of the launch

anyway it was a wonderful success at leisure, I would like to share this joy with all friends here!

 

[Patriot]

Congrats China

 

[gpit]

A nice real time video of the blast-off starting with 2 minute preparation - only in Chinese, but you can guess most of it.

 

[Spring Onion]

By Maureen Fan

Washington Post Foreign Service

Thursday, September 25, 2008; 3:45 PM

BEIJING, Sept. 25 -- China carried out a textbook-perfect launch Thursday night with the liftoff of three astronauts into space for the country's third manned spaceflight and first spacewalk.
Underscoring the political implications of the mission, a beaming President Hu Jintao congratulated the astronauts on live television. He called the voyage "another milestone in the Chinese people's march towards aerospace science."
The mission was a sign of China's growing strategic power and an indication of the importance it gives to space exploration for commercial and military purposes. While NASA officials complain that diminishing budgets threaten U.S. dominance in space, China has joined Europe, India and other nations in announcing ambitious new developments in aerospace.
"After the Olympics, it's the most exciting thing that enhances our national pride and dignity this year," said He Haihong, 25, a sales manager at an electronics company who founded a Web site for Chinese aerospace fans. "Not only is the rocket launched but also our hopes for a better life."
Astronaut Zhai Zhigang is scheduled to attempt the spacewalk over the weekend, according to the state-run New China News Agency and CCTV. The spacewalk is aimed at helping China learn how to dock two orbiters to create an orbiting space station over the next few years.

Hours before the launch, the astronauts -- three 42-year-old fighter pilots -- sat inside the spacecraft, appearing relaxed as they read from a checklist and waved to a TV camera. At the launching station, rows of ground control staff in brown caps led the countdown while the country's top leaders watched. There was a burst of flame, then liftoff and applause.

Officials were so excited that the New China News Agency posted a story online describing the successful launch hours before the astronauts were in orbit.
The smooth takeoff allowed the country to focus on something other than the food scandals and economic troubles that have dominated news this month.
"Although Chinese society has a lot of problems . . . the launch of Shenzhou VII can improve the confidence of ordinary people because it shows China is getting stronger and stronger," said library worker Song Liangchun, 43. "I watched the launch on TV, and my heart almost jumped out of my throat when they ejected the rocket. I'm so glad that China is closer to the U.S. and Russia. Our astronaut's steps in space might be small, but it is a big step for us Chinese."
At the China Aerospace Museum in South Beijing, 500 sixth-graders from the city of Tianjin lined up orderly and quietly, until they saw the three-story models of rockets. Then they scattered in excitement.
"On TV, the rockets don't look so big!" said Chen Lu, a 12-year-old girl. "I worship the astronauts because they can see the whole earth from space."

 

[kvLin]

Jana do you know,among 16 monitoring-controling stations worldwide for Shenzhou-7, there's one in Karachi?

 

[Spring Onion]

Jana do you know,among 16 monitoring-controling stations worldwide for Shenzhou-7, there's one in Karachi?

no i dint know that Love you kvLin Thank you.

Thats great realy great.

We love China indeed

 

[Spring Onion]

Chinese astronauts, right to left, Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng during a send-off ceremony before the launch of the Shenzhou 7 space craft at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu province, on Thursday Sept. 25, 2008. China began counting down Thursday to an evening rocket launch that will put a crew of three men into space, including one who will make the country's first spacewalk. (AP Photo/Color China Photo) (AP)

 

[Spring Onion]

 

[gpit]

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | China astronauts braced for walk

China's three astronauts have spent their first day in orbit preparing for the mission's spacewalk.

A 42-year-old fighter pilot, Zhai Zhigang, is due to carry out the 20-minute manoeuvre at 1630 Beijing Time (0830 GMT) on Saturday.

It will be the first time Chinese yuhangyuan (astronauts) have ventured outside their spacecraft.

Their Shenzhou VII capsule soared into orbit on a Long March II-F rocket from Jiuquan spaceport in north-west China.

The rocket put the Shenzhou capsule in a near-circular orbit more than 300km above the Earth.

Mr Zhai is joined on the mission by two other "yuhangyuan" - Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng.

Zhang Jianqi, one of the chief engineers for China's space programme, said keeping three men in the spacecraft, and then sending one outside, would be a "big test".

"This is a big technological leap," he told state-run news agency Xinhua.

"The risks are quite high. Sending up three astronauts is a jump both in quantity and quality."

When Mr Zhai carries out his extra-vehicular activity (EVA), he is expected to wear a Chinese-made spacesuit thought to have cost between £5m and £20m ($10m-$40m).

The yuhanguan will be tethered to the capsule with a cable that provides him with life support and a communications link with the spacecraft.

His back-up, Mr Liu, will monitor the activity, presumably to reel the spacewalker back inside if there is an emergency.

Mr Zhai will retrieve an externally mounted experiment and oversee the release of a satellite.

During their 68 hours in orbit, the astronauts will be able to enjoy an unprecedented choice of food. The menu includes spicy chicken with peanuts, shrimps and dry fruits.

...

1958: Base for spaceflights built at Jiuquan, in Gobi desert
April 1970: China launches its first satellite into space
1990-2002: Shenzhou I-IV are launched to develop systems
Oct 2003: The first manned space mission launches on Shenzhou V
Oct 2005: The Shenzhou VI mission takes two men into space
Oct 2007: Chang'e-1 orbiter sent on unmanned mission to the Moon

1. Forward orbital module - crew live and work in this section, which contains scientific equipment. In future missions, this module may remain in orbit as part of a Chinese space station
2. Re-entry capsule - contains seats for three crew
3. Propulsion module - contains spacecraft's power unit and liquid fuel rocket system
4. Solar panels - spacecraft carries one pair of solar panels
5. Spacewalk - One yuhangyuan (astronaut) exits the orbital module on a tether. Another crew member stands just inside to assist in case of an emergency

 

[gpit]

Shenzhou-7 astronaut starts assembling space suit for spacewalk

11:32, September 26, 2008

Astronaut aboard the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft, China's third manned spaceship, began to unpack and assemble the indigenous Feitian extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suit at 10:20 a.m. Friday in preparation for the first spacewalk.

As of 11:51 a.m., the spaceship which blasted off at 9:10 p.m. Thursday at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gansu Province, has made 11 orbits around the earth as scheduled.

Physical conditions of the three astronauts who are in duty shift, all stay normal.

Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming took on assembling in the orbital module while Jing Haipeng stayed in the re-entry module to keep an eye on the vessel operation.

Feitian, which literally means flying the sky, has 10 layers and weighs about 120 kilograms. The domestically-made suit costs 30 million yuan (about 4.4 million U.S. dollars), and takes up to 15 hours for astronaut to assemble and put on.

According to Wu Bin, director of the astronaut training research institute under the China Astronaut Training Center, the astronauts have to unpack the suit which was fixed on the interiolwall of the orbital module. The unpacking procedure can be broken down to 12 steps, of which every step will be implemented with the help of the pincers.

After assembling, the replaceable parts including the purifier, oxygen bottle, batteries and remote control instruments will be installed on the suit.

The astronaut will have to adjust the size of the suit and test its obturation and functions after donning the suit. The procedure will be aided by another astronaut to ensure everything goes well, Wu said.

Since the astronaut will grew "fatter" after putting on the bulky suit, the re-entry module is built with an enlarged door of 850-millimeter-diameter, deputy chief designer of the spacecraft system Qi Yufeng told Xinhua.

A commander-in-chief post was for first time set up in the Shenzhou-7, which will be assigned to the No.1 astronaut, who will walk into the space. He will be assisted during Saturday's spacewalk by the No. 2 astronaut, who will stay in the orbital module during the process. The No. 3 astronaut will stay in the re-entry module.

Yang Liwei, who piloted China's maiden space flight in 2003 has said the intensive psychological shock would be unavoidable for the Shenzhou-7 astronaut when he moved out of the capsule.

Since the operation was highly automatic, it was the psychological factor other than the manual operation that decided the success of the mission, Yang said. Psychology would affect the mission greatly notably when space walking, which was heavily relied on the astronaut's self-initiative.

The No. 2 astronaut will wear a different space suit, the Orlan space suit provided by a Russian supplier.

According to a contract signed in April, 2004, a Russia company provides three Orlan suits, two low-pressure training suits, four suits for underwater training, and four sets of docking systems in the craft. The Chinese side is responsible for providing power and communications equipment for some of the EVA suits.

"The active collaboration of the two countries in areas like astronauts training and the development of spacecraft have boosted the advancement of China's manned space industry," Wang Zhaoyao, spokesman with China's manned space program has said.

If Shenzhou-7 mission is successful, China will become the third country after United States and Russia to accomplish a spacewalk, a crucial capacity if China is to have its own permanent space station.

The space environment forecast center under the China Academy of Sciences said Friday that the space environment was sound and safe for the spacewalk between Sept. 26-28.

The video grab taken on Sept. 26, 2008 at the Beijing Space Command and Control Center in Beijing, China, shows Chinese astronaut Liu Boming unpacking and assembling the indigenous Feitian extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suit in Shenzhou-7. Astronauts aboard the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft, China's third manned spaceship, began to assemble the suit and test its obturation and functions at 10:20 a.m. Friday in preparation for the first spacewalk. (Xinhua/Zha Chunming)


Source:Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90881/6506877.html

 

[gpit]

China to mass produce Shenzhou spaceship
13:20, September 26, 2008

China will begin the mass production of its Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) spacecraft starting from Shenzhou 8, the chief designer of the spacecraft system of China's manned space program told Xinhua Friday.

Zhang Bainan said the mass-produced model will serve as a shuttle between China's space station and the ground, and may also transport astronauts and cargo for other countries.

The ground test is already being done on the prototype of the Shenzhou 8, He said, adding that a raft of ground tests and the seven successful outer space missions from Shenzhou 1 to Shenzhou 7 have laid "solid technical foundation" for the confirmation of final design.

The finalized model would look roughly the same as the current one in use, but its interior decoration would be much comfier, he said.

He revealed that the finalized model, highly home-made, should be safer, more reliable and able to support three astronauts to fly for seven days and complete the task of space station docking. "The mass production would also allow intensive launch in a short period of time," he said.

Apart from finalizing the model of China's manned spaceship, another mission of the Shenzhou-8 was to seek for a breakthrough in the orbiter docking technology, a must step for the ultimate goal of building a permanent space laboratory and a space engineering system that allow astronauts to conduct scientific experiments of larger scale.

The transportation vehicles currently in use between space stations and the ground are mainly space shuttles of the United States and Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.

Chinese technicians would make a history if they could finalize the design of its manned spacecraft after launching only eight space vehicles, he said.

Source:Xinhua
China to mass produce Shenzhou spaceship - People's Daily Online

 

[gpit]

Beijing control center boasts of real time control of multiple space missions

19:43, September 26, 2008

As China's third manned spaceship Shenzhou-7 moved into orbit on early Friday, the country has unprecedentedly fulfilled a mission of controlling more than one space vessels in real time, namely the Shenzhou-7 and the lunar probe.

It marks a major breakthrough in China's aerospace control development, said Zhu Mincai, director of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC), the nerve center of China's outer space program.

It is historic that BACC is capable of controlling both Shenzhou-7 and the lunar probe which is orbiting the moon 380,000 kilometers above the earth, Zhu said.

"We managed to sort out all the technological problems after careful preparation." he said.

Zhu declared BACC a world's first class control center for its excellency both in real time orbiting control and high speed data processing.

Established in March 1996, BACC is the commanding center of China's manned space programme where all the important decisions were made.

The aerospace control, data processing and information exchange activities during China's six previous space missions, a lunar probe mission as well as other satellite launches were also carried out there.

To be able to cope with multiple tasks at the same time, the expert team was divided into four groups with two for manned space, one for the lunar probe and one for the Mars probe, according to Zhu. Each could work independently, he said.

He also told reporters that more than half of the technicians here are aged under 30, and most of them are involved in the manned space mission for the first time. They have to go through rigorous training to qualify for the mission.

"It was our precise calculation that extended the life expectancy of the Chang'e-1, China's first lunar probe launched in2007. We are confident to fulfill the Shenzhou-7 mission." head of the orbiting department of BACC Tang Geshi told Xinhua.

The center has also developed a software capable of precise calculation of re-entry data of the manned spacecraft, which is the best demonstration of the center's prowess.

That can be proved by the accurate prediction of Shenzhou-5 and6's landing points, which were only several kilometers away from the preset location.

It also boasted a time difference of 20 seconds between the projected and the actual landing of the Chang'e-1 last year.

To cope with any accidents may happen during China's historic spacewalking, BACC has prepared 230 emergency plans.

Computers and the projecting facilities in the control center are also updated with new ones to ensure the smooth live broadcast of the spacewalk scheduled on Saturday.

"Although we have made thorough preparations, we can never slacken before the mission succeeds." said Zhu.

(Reporting by Li Xuanliang, Tian Zhaoyun, Writing by Liu Jie)

Source: Xinhua

 

[kvLin]

live video

 

[dr.umer]

Here is the video of China Space Walk 2008