Chinese spacewalk and spaceship Shenzhou VII: news

[gpit]

Reportedly slated for October 2008, maiden spacewalk ever conducted by the Chinese will accompany the launch of spaceship Shenzhou-7.

A technological break through has been announced by China Academy of Space Technology as follows:


Shenzhou VII spaceship airlock module, spacesuit pass initial ground tests Shenzhou VII spaceship airlock module, spacesuit pass initial ground tests_English_Xinhua

BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China has passed initial ground tests for its Shenzhou VII spaceship airlock module and an extravehicular spacesuit, Thursday's China daily quoted a top scientist as saying.

"Both the airlock module and the extravehicular spacesuit passed the tests, which simulated the zero-gravity environment of space," said Yang Baohua, head of the China Academy of Space Technology.

"This boosts our confidence in the spacewalk," he said.

The airlock module and extravehicular spacesuit are critical for the mission and their design are challenging for the Chinese scientists.

The airlock is a pressure chamber linking the main body of the spacecraft to the outside. It is a complex piece of equipment but was not required on the previous six Shenzhou space flights, according to Yang.

Similarly, the extravehicular spacesuit, developed by several other scientific institutes, is technologically more demanding than the intra-vehicular spacesuits worn by astronauts on earlier missions. It must protect astronauts from dramatic temperature changes and radiation in space, as well as provide them with food, oxygen and equipment to communicate with the spaceship, experts said.

Currently, fourteen candidates are undergoing training for the Shenzhou VII mission, including China's first astronaut Yang Liwei, who was aboard Shenzhou V in 2003.

But the final three on board have not been decided.

The spacewalk mission is expected to be broadcast live on television.

Yang Baohua said the spaceship's re-entry module is the largest in the world in terms of its available space. Once it returns to Earth, the orbital module will remain in space to carry out experiments.

A successful spacewalk mission will lay the foundation for a space laboratory and space station, he said.

China Academy of Space technology has designed most of China's satellites, including the Shenzhou spaceships.

Although the exact date has not set for the spacewalk, the Shenzhou VII will be launched this year from Jiuquan, Gansu province.


Editor: Sun Yunlong

 

[gpit]

ShenZhou 7 Manned Spaceflight Mission

The ShenZhou 7 will be the third Chinese manned spaceflight mission. The mission is scheduled to be launched between 12~18 October 2008, using a ShenZhou spacecraft carried by a CZ-2F space launch vehicle (SLV). The mission will have a crew of three astronauts and will include the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA). Two teams of three-man crew have been chosen from 14 candidates in training since July 2007. FEI Junlong and NIE Haisheng, who were the flight crew of the last manned flight mission ShenZhou 6 in 2005, are each heading one of the two teams.


Artist impression: The ShenZhou 7 flight crew will contact the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (Source: Chinese Internet)

Early reports suggested that the ShenZhou 7 mission was originally scheduled in 2007. However, the launched date was postponed due to the delay in the development of the EVA spacesuit. The 100kg spacesuit developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) can support an EVA mission of up to seven hours. However, a more recent report revealed that the PRC has already imported several sets of the Orlan EVA spacesuit system from Russia. Which design will be used in the Shenzhou 7 mission has yet been decided.

During the EVA mission, two crew members will enter the spacecraft’s orbital module, which serves as an airlock during the mission, while a third crew member will remain inside the re-entry capsule to operate the spacecraft. The two crew members in the orbital module will help each other to put on the spacesuits, though probably only one of the suits is designed for EVA. The supporting astronaut will help the EVA astronaut to inspect the suit and carry out safety checks.

The two astronauts will then depressurise the orbital module and open the large cylinder hatch used to enter the spacecraft. While conducting the EVA, the astronaut is tied to a tether of about 5m, which provides oxygen for breath and communications between the astronaut and the spacecraft. The supporting astronaut will carefully monitor the EVA astronaut from inside the orbital module.

Another important detail revealed by the Chinese space authority is that the ShenZhou 7 may carry a micro satellite carried on top of the orbital module of the spacecraft. The micro satellite, which can be launched automatically or under the command of the flight crew, is equipped with a CCD camera. The satellite will capture the images of the spacecraft in the orbit, and the whole process of the EVA.


Three Chinese astronauts in training inside the ShenZhou 7 re-entry capsule (Source: CCTV)


The ShenZhou 7 spacecraft being assembled at the Beijing 'Space City' (Source: CCTV)


A screen capture of a CAST PR video shows the design of the Chinese EVA space suit (Source: CCTV)

ShenZhou 7 Manned Spaceflight Mission - SinoDefence.com

 

[ddrbdgzy]

support and bless

 

[Friendship]

A new exploration to space of China.A great progress~

 

[gpit]

China's 1st spacewalk mission to launch in October China's 1st spacewalk mission to launch in October _English_Xinhua

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's Shenzhou VII manned space mission, which will include the first spacewalk by a Chinese "taikonaut," is to launch in October, said a spokesman of the China manned space engineering office here on Thursday.

He would not give the exact date of the launch, but said a day would be selected in October.

A crew of six astronauts had been chosen for the mission, with three manning the spacecraft and three substitutes, said the spokesman.

Two of the astronauts on board the spacecraft would prepare for the historic spacewalk, he said.

The remaining taikonaut was expected to carry out scientific experiments, he said.

Scientists had finished the research and assembly of the space craft, he said.

The Shenzhou VII will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu. The launch center is getting prepared for the launch, according to earlier reports.

The spacewalk mission is crucial for China to establishing a space laboratory or station.

China began its manned space program in 1999 and successfully sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into orbit on the Shenzhou V spacecraft in 2003.

Two years later, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng completed a new Chinese record with a five-day flight on the Shenzhou VI All returned safely.

 

[gpit]

China sets dates for space launch

By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News

China will launch its third manned space mission in late September, state-run news agency Xinhua reports.

The Shenzhou VII flight will feature China's first ever space walk, which will be broadcast live with cameras inside and outside the spacecraft.

Three "yuhangyuan" (astronauts) will blast off on a Long-March II-F rocket sometime between 25 and 30 September.

Previous reports in state media had put the launch in October, possibly during the National Day holiday.

In 2003, China became only the third country in the world to send a human into orbit. It followed with a two-man mission in 2005.

The spacecraft will be launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the country's north-western Gansu province.

Technically demanding

Technicians have been busily checking the readiness of the spacecraft, which will carry the crew into orbit on a mission lasting up to five days.

This flight will be more technically demanding than the last.

For the spacewalk, two crew members will go into the spacecraft's vacuum module. One yuhangyuan will carry out the spacewalk; the other is there to monitor the activity and assist in case of an emergency.

Two types of spacesuits - one made in China, the other from Russia - will be carried up on the flight.

It is unclear why China has opted for two different types of spacesuit.

Spaceflight analyst Dr Morris Jones commented that China might want to test the suits against each other. Alternatively, he said, it might not be ready or willing to fly a mission exclusively with its own suits.

The crew members, whose identities have not been released, have been training in a water tank to get used to weightlessness and to study procedures for the flight.

Bad vibrations

The Shenzhou spacecraft closely resembles the Russian Soyuz capsules, but is substantially larger. Unlike the Soyuz, it has an orbital module that is equipped with its own propulsion, allowing autonomous flight.

Testing of the spacecraft and the Long-March II-F rocket which will loft it into orbit is now complete, a Chinese space official told Xinhua.

Engineers have reportedly made over 30 technical improvements to the new rocket.

"There were some rocket vibrations after it took off which sometimes made our astronauts experience physical discomfort," Jin Muchun, the Long-March II-F's chief designer, told the state-owned television channel CCTV9 in July.

"So we have been trying to eliminate the vibrations by changing the frequency of the engine and the electric circuit of the rocket."

According to reports, a small satellite will also be launched during the mission.

China launched an unmanned Moon probe last year about one month after rival Japan blasted its own lunar orbiter into space.

In July, Dr Michael Griffin, the head of the US space agency Nasa), told BBC News that China was capable of sending a manned mission to the Moon in the next decade, if it so wished.

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | China sets dates for space launch

 

[gpit]

Future flights of China's Shenzhou spaceship will include space walks - a prelude to rendezvous and docking in Earth orbit. Image Credit: China National Space Administration

 

[gpit]

A virtual image of an astronaut spacewalking outside the Shenzhou VII spaceship. (Photo: Chinadaily.com, File Photo)

 

[frhbg]

hope it will be launched successfully.Best wishes!

 

[gpit]

China names crew for space launch
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News

The mission will feature China's first spacewalk

China has announced the names of three astronauts who will carry out its third manned space mission.

A 42-year-old fighter pilot, Zhai Zhigang, has been chosen to perform the country's first spacewalk.

He will be joined by Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng on the Shenzhou VII mission - set to launch on 25 September at 1310 GMT (2110 local time).

State-run news agency Xinhua said the "yuhangyuan" (astronauts) were making final preparations for the lift-off.

The spacewalk is scheduled to be broadcast live with cameras inside and outside the spacecraft.

Mr Zhai will undertake the 40-minute manoeuvre outside the Shenzhou VII capsule on the afternoon of either 26 or 27 September, reports say.

As the spacecraft orbits Earth, the air force pilot, who is married with one son, will enter the vacuum module with one other yuhangyuan.

The other crew member will then help Mr Zhai put on the heavy spacesuit, which is worth about 100 million yuan (£8m; $15m), Chinese media reports.

The suit is based largely on Russian designs. But two types of suit, one Chinese-made, the other manufactured in Russia, will be carried up on the spacecraft.

Liu Boming is reported to be the first substitute for the spacewalk. All three yuhangyuan celebrate their 42nd birthdays this year.

Satellite surveillance

During the walk, two safety straps will connect the yuhangyuan to the spacecraft.

A small satellite will either be released automatically from the vehicle, or let go by the yuhangyuan during the spacewalk, to beam footage back to Earth.

It is equipped with cameras to capture the historic moment when Mr Zhai steps into space.

China successfully sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into orbit on the Shenzhou V spacecraft in 2003.

Two years later, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng completed a five-day flight on Shenzhou VI.

Chinese media reported that this latest mission was the "most critical step" in the country's "three-step" space programme.

These stages are: sending a human into orbit, docking spacecraft together to form a small laboratory and, ultimately, building a large space station.

The Shenzhou VIII and IX missions are expected to help set up a space laboratory complex in 2010.

China launched an unmanned Moon probe last year about one month after rival Japan blasted its own lunar orbiter into space.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7618724.stm

 

[kvLin]

there's a very nice serial of documentary film about the history of China's space flight. Han Tian Ji (撼天&#35760, many confidential events displayed.

 

[Neo]

Can you post the link KvLin? Hope its in English.

 

[kvLin]

Han Tian Ji

a vivid record since the world's first rocket (V1), and for China from Russian helps to China's shenzhou 7 space walk.

pity it's all in Chinese.

 

[Neo]

Thanks anyway.
If you find an english version, please post it.

 

[kvLin]

no problem if there's one