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China manned space flight set for October: state media
Beijing (AFP) June 12, 2008 The launch of China's third manned space flight, the Shenzhou VII, with a crew of three "taikonauts" has been set for October, state media reported Thursday. A short-list of six "taikonauts" or astronauts had already been selected for the flight and would be whittled down to a crew of three before the October launch, Xinhua news agency said, citing a spokesman for the mission. "One member of the flight crew will undergo a space walk and undertake relevant scientific experiments," the spokesman said. The names of the taikonauts were not given, but Yang Liwei, China's first man in space, had previously been reported to be a candidate for the flight. No precise dates of the launch were given, but officials earlier had said it would take place in September or early October, following the August Beijing Olympic Games. China successfully launched Yang into orbit in 2003, making it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to put a man in space. It sent two more astronauts into orbit in 2005 on a five-day mission. It was not immediately clear how long the Shenzhou VII mission would last. China's manned space programme operates on a shoestring budget compared with the the United States and Russia. But the government seeks to maximise the value of each new step into space, hailing it as proof of the nation's emergence as a power in science and technology. Related Links The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology China News from SinoDaily.com
Suits For Shenzhou
Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 05, 2008In the last months before China's first spacewalk, facts about the mission are slowly trickling out. China has been coy about releasing precise information on the spacesuit to be used or the tethering system to be used for the spacewalker. Other details, such as the number of astronauts who will be exposed to vacuum in the orbital module, are also hard to find in official statements. |
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