Posted on 10/14/2003 3:49:17 PM PDT by bonesmccoy
Thumbs up for China’s space launch
But Beijing decides against live telecast; preparations veiled in traditional secrecy
JIUQUAN, China, Oct. 15 — Keeping his identity secret, China prepared its first astronaut for space travel Tuesday and loaded his rocket with fuel — but said the public and the world would have to wait to learn whether the flight succeeds. The Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily said the launch would “most probably” happen Wednesday morning, which translates to Tuesday evening ET.
STATE TELEVISION scrapped plans for a live broadcast of the launch. A Hong Kong newspaper said the cancellation was prompted by fears of the “political risks” of something going wrong. A successful flight would make China the third nation to put a human into space on its own — a propaganda prize in which communist leaders have invested 11 years of secretive preparation and untold resources. Communist leaders hope the history-making launch will boost China’s standing abroad and, more important, help the party’s image among a populace weary of corruption and other abuses. The three finalists to become China’s first “taikonaut” (TYE’-koh-nawt) were reportedly waiting at a Gobi Desert launch base near this dusty city of concrete apartment buildings in the remote northwest. Security was tight around the remote base, some 175 miles (280 kilometers) northeast of Jiuquan: Cars were turned back and phone calls to the base were blocked. “It’s a big thing for the country,” said Zhang Ming, a man buying a leather jacket in Jiuquan on Tuesday.
WHO WILL FLY? The astronaut candidates, all fighter pilots, were to undergo final tests as little as one hour before the flight, state media said. The government’s Xinhua News Agency has said the “No. 1 astronaut” among them would go up — the strongest sign yet that the flight will carry only one person. People’s Daily said the Shenzhou 5 capsule had completed its own final tests and, on Tuesday, was “sitting on the launch pad with more fuel being injected.” It said top Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao, were to attend the launch.
“The launch of Shenzhou 5 is long-awaited by the Chinese people,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue. She said the flight was a key step in the “peaceful development of space” — a reflection of China’s effort to reassure the world that its military-linked program is benign. The Shenzhou, or “Divine Vessel,” is based on the three-seat Russian Soyuz capsule, though with extensive modifications. China also paid Moscow to train at least two astronauts. But Beijing insists everything sent into space will be developed and made in China. State media, trying to dispel suggestions that its triumph depends on foreign know-how, refer to Shenzhou as “China’s self-designed manned spaceship.” Xinhua quoted space officials Tuesday assuring the public that the astronauts’ spacesuits were safe and the Long March CZ-2 F booster was China’s “best rocket.”
CONFIDENCE AND CONCERN After months of official silence, the government showed growing confidence over the past week, announcing that the flight would blast off sometime between Wednesday and Friday and splashing pictures of the once-secret launch base across newspapers. Advertisement
But the decision to cancel a live broadcast suggested leaders might be unnerved by the thought of the propaganda disaster that an accident could produce. The People’s Daily Web site gave no explanation for the decision to cancel. China used to broadcast satellite launches live, but stopped in 1995 after a rocket blew up moments after liftoff, reportedly killing six people on the ground. The Shenzhou 5 launch comes after four test launches of unmanned capsules that orbited the Earth for nearly a week before parachuting back to China’s northern grasslands. State media say the manned flight is expected to last 14 orbits or about 20 hours. State television planned to broadcast taped scenes of the launch only if it succeeds, the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post said, citing “media sources.” State-run China Central Television would not confirm the report. “There might be a live broadcast, or there might not,” a CCTV spokeswoman, who refused to give her name, told The Associated Press. “CCTV employees aren’t allowed to answer that question.”
DECISION CRITICIZED Dozens of messages left on Chinese Web sites taunted officials for their decision and demanded that the government show its people the historic launch as it happens. Such sites are monitored by censors who enforce official rules on content and sometimes erase postings, which suggested the negative postings were genuine. “The decision is very idiotic and reflects our nation’s lack of confidence,” said a note on the popular Sina.com Web site, signed Flyying111. The Gansu Daily, published in the provincial capital, Lanzhou, welcomed the imminent launch. “Finally,” it said, “the time has come to realize the 1,000-year dream of flying dreamed by the sons and daughters of China.”
We can't match the spirit of the time -- there were no limits! Always what we could do, not what we could not. Look what we did in that era -- the SR-71, best jet ever made; the F-15, best Fighter (and I'll stack it against the F-22 as built, F-117, etc.)
Higher, Faster, SAFER
We have become a nation of pansies. Everything costs a gagillion dollars and we get didly-squat. < /rant>
US Navy DSRV...
China Launches Manned Space Mission
The Associated Press
Tuesday, October 14, 2003; 9:09 PM
GOBI DESERT, China - China launched its first manned space mission on Wednesday, sending an astronaut hurtling toward orbit and becoming the third country in history to do so on its own - four decades after the Soviet Union and the United States.
The smoky tracer was visible against a bright, azure northwest China sky. The official Xinhua News Agency immediately confirmed the launch and said the astronaut was Yang Liwei, 38.
"China's first manned spacecraft, the Shenzhou 5, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu at 9 a.m. Wednesday (9 p.m. EDT)," Xinhua said. State television cut into its programming to announce the launch.
It was the culmination of a decade of efforts by China's military-linked manned space program - and a patriotism-drenched moment for a communist government more concerned than ever about its profile on the world stage.
Security was tight around the remote Gobi Desert base, some 175 miles northeast of Jiuquan.
On Wednesday morning, the only road to the launch site was crowded with traffic, including military vehicles and civilian tour buses. But private cars were turned back and phone calls to the base were blocked.
China kept details of the event secret, saying in advance only that the launch would take place between Wednesday and Friday and that the astronaut would orbit the Earth 14 times. Yang was identified as a lieutenant colonel.
The Shenzhou 5 launch came after four test launches of unmanned capsules that orbited the Earth for nearly a week before parachuting back to China's northern grasslands. State media say the manned flight is expected to last about 20 hours.
Nope. I konos was designed as a 1 meter resolution imaging satellite.
MXC rocks!
"I don't make this stuff up folks! That's what they said!"
Perhaps China will help the US get motivated once again, but using private industry this time.
I have been a very strong supporter of space exploration, ever since I watched Ham (the chimp) launched back when I was in kindergarten.
Today, I am ashamed of NASA.
We are, alas, on the same page. The Proxmires of the world, followed by Carter killed space exploration.
I guess we pass the baton to China -- maybe I was too flippant about them.
My father allowed me to watch every single NASA spacecraft launch, since Ham (the chimp) started it all. If the launch was during the day, he would allow me to be "sick" and stay home from school.
To him, this was a valuable part of my education.
Today, I am reading live updates about China's launch into space with the same excitement. Thanks Freepers!
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