Chinese spacewalk and spaceship Shenzhou VII: news

[kvLin]

when shenzhou-7 astronaut was about to open the hatch of the obital capsule, the whole spacecraft flew out of the monitoring range of South Africa station and next station will be South Asia (namely Karachi station) in 10+ minutes, before which there's no live video on the monitoring screen.

and then the Karachi station and following pacific station (Yuanwang-6 survey vessel ) worked pretty well. hence we got the exalting live show of the EVA.

 

[overseer]

Congratulation for great success in this mission !! I am so glad and proud China is able to do this!

 

[gpit]

This is a video recording the vehicle's returning to Earth - in English.

 

[Al Shaheen]

Congratulations to China on a fantastic achivement.

My girlfriend is actually a UK teacher in Beijing, as you can imagine, pride and excitement there are very high at the moment.

Great to see the Chinese manned space effort going from strength to strength.

 

[shrivatsa]

Congradulations to China

 

[gpit]

There was a scary moment when the Taikongnauts were conducting EVA, and a sensor falsely alarmed fire in the orbital module. The following dialogue was right after the vehicle entering the scope of observatory in South Asia – in Chinese.

JK6wDH7W-M4[/media] - ???? ????

One of the Taikongnauts said: “…let’s continue!” Another voice answered: “understood!” The first voice: “ It’s already too late for us (to escape) if it catches a fire. We just ignore it!” They are truly heroes with such a psychological stability! This dialogue also exists in other videos, but was pretty low in voice and very unclear.

Luckily, the ground control found everything was fine minutes later.

 

[kvLin]

the false alarm is said caused by sudden solar radiation which heated the sensor when the hatch was open.

it was really a fright to me though I know there's unlikely any possibility for outbreak of fire when the capsule opens up in vacuum.

nevertheless,hail to the brave taikonaut!

 

[kvLin]

overseer,

 

[kvLin]

This is a video recording the vehicle's returning to Earth - in English.

utBqWYSzh_g[/media] - Latest News: Shenzhou 7 Safely Return to Earth [Live Video Feed from Spacecraft] All Taikonauts in Perfect Condition ??7????? ????? ??? ???? China In Space Shenzhou-VII

can anybody name the snow mountain which appears at 1'20" in the video?

hint: when the re-entry module separated from propulsion module and started to drop into aerosphere, it's having an upright projection at South Africa, but was still flying around the earth. and it was being monitored successively by Changjiang-3(Yuanwang-3 survey vessel in the Atlantic), Changjiang-4 ( Yuangwang-4 in the Indian Ocean) and South Asia moniotor (Karachi Station).

and the video clip with snow mountain was forwarded by South Asia monitor.

 

[chinese boy]

我爱你中国。
i am a chinese.i am be proud of my country.
my msn:zhouqi4527479@hotmail.com

 

[gpit]

Chinese taikonauts return as heros after landmark spacewalk
Chinese taikonauts return as heros after landmark spacewalk _English_Xinhua

English_Xinhua 2008-09-28 20:47:47

BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhou-7 space module carrying three taikonauts landed safely by parachute Sunday afternoon in China's northern grassland, after a landmark spacewalk mission that leads the country further in its space exploration.

Astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng came back from a 68-hour flight, which included a 20-minute spacewalk on Saturday.

"It was a glorious mission, full of challenges with a perfect result. I'm proud of my country," said spacewalker Zhai, sitting on a chair after emerging from the module. The trio exited the module by themselves after a brief medical check and adaptation to the Earth's gravitational environment.

Liu said "before taking off, I told you the Chinese taikonauts are the best. Thank the motherland and the people."

"We felt the care of the country and people in the abysmal space. Now we have safely returned," said Jing, followed by a military solute by the trio.

The taikonauts were welcomed with flower bouquets and Premier Wen Jiabao at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) were watching their return in a live transmission. Wen said the mission was "a victory of the Chinese space and technological field and a monumental achievement in the Socialist causes".

"Your historical feat will be remembered by the country and the people," Wen said, delivering a congratulatory note from the central authorities.

Wen shook hands with technicians and scientists at the center, telling them "This was no easy task at all ... It was splendid. Keep up with the good work".

The taikonauts will be taken to a hospital in the Inner Mongolian capital Hohhot for medical examination and flown back to Beijing on Monday for a two-week quarantine.

The successful crusade marks a critical step in China's space quest -- it is now the third country in the world to attain a spacewalk. The only two other countries are the United States and Russia.

In what many hail as a "perfect walk", Zhai tread China's first "step" in the space. Donned in a 4-million-U.S. dollar homemade Feitian space suit, he spent 20 minutes outside the orbiter on Saturday afternoon, and excited tens of millions on the Earth when he waved a Chinese flag.

The spacecraft was blasted off at 9:10 p.m. on Thursday in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, where the country's first two manned space missions took off in 2003 and 2005.

It circled the earth 46 laps before descending on 1,000-square-meter parachute at Siziwang Banner in central Inner Mongolia at 5:37 p.m. Sunday, where 300 search and rescue staff waited.

PEACEFUL EXPLORATION OF SPACE

The mission, although so far the most challenging, was high-profile and seemed bound for success before it even took off. President Hu Jintao flew to Jiuquan to personally see off the taikonauts and held an "Earth-space" phone conversation with them after the spacewalk.

Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday the spirit of those who worked for the mission shall be amplified across the nation and called the scientists and engineers to "continue to make contributions to the space industry and overall rejuvenation of the nation". He said it is the Chinese people's persistent aspiration to develop the manned spaceflight technologies for the peaceful exploration and use of the outer space.

Zhai's roaming in space comes as a crowning moment for the Chinese, who celebrates the upcoming national day on Oct. 1 and 30 years of reform and opening up this year.

The mission headquarters said all tasks, such as the satellite data relay trial, releasing a companion satellite, retrieval of solid lubricant, and space suit test, are successful.

"The mission proves that our overall technological level has been upgraded. There are great breakthroughs in many aspects," the headquarters announced in a statement.

"It has laid a solid scientific and technological foundation for future goals of manned space lab and space stations," it said.

Photo taken on Sept. 28, 2008 at Beijing Space Command and Control Center in Beijing, China, shows Shenzhou-7 re-entry module being parachuted to the ground. (Xinhua/Cheng Jianli)

China's Shenzhou-7 spacecraft's re-entry module lands safely in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Wang Jianmin)

China's Shenzhou-7 spacecraft's re-entry module lands safely in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Wang Jianmin)

One of the three Chinese taikonauts (R) is ready to get out of Shenzhou-7 re-entry module after their safe landing in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sept. 28, 2008. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

 

[gpit]

Scientists: Shenzhou-7 lubricant test significant to further space missions _English_Xinhua


English_Xinhua 2008-09-28 20:17:24

BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- When taikonaut, Zhai Zhigang, successfully retrieved a scientific test from the outside of Shenzhou-7, the Chinese space program reached a milestone in research and development of advanced space materials.

That test is made up of solid lubricant samples.

In an interview with Xinhua Sunday, leading material scientist, Liu Weimin said the shuttle carried eleven samples of three different types of lubricants.

"The sample needed to be firmly fixed outside the spacecraft during the lift-off and orbiting," said Weng Lijun, chief designer of the test.

Scientists testing lubricant film, lubricant coating and self-lubricating composite to find out how it reacts to a low-earth orbiting environment.

Lubricants are vitally important for the safety and effectiveness of spacecraft and carriers during their work, said Liu, director of the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

In light of the taikonauts's limited capability during the EVA, the experiment had to be wisely schemed and the extravehicular test platform had to be designed for easy handling and retrieval of operators, said Weng.

Liu's institute as well as the CAS Institute of Opto-Electronics, came up with a test device that was able to be unlocked by one hand.

Scientists are expecting to study the exposed sample as soon asShenzhou-7 lands.

The CAS Lanzhou Institute has been developing new lubricants for space missions for years. Starting back in the 1960s, CAS scientists invented products for China's first homemade satellites. It also had its products on the first Shenzhou space mission in 1999.

 

[gpit]

Spokesman: China to build space station in 2020


English_Xinhua 2008-09-28 21:15:49 Print

BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- China aims to set up a space station in 2020 and before that it will launch a "simple" space lab in 2011, said a spokesman of the country's manned space program Sunday evening.

The station will be attended to by human beings, said Wang Zhaoyao at a press conference following the successful landing of the country's third manned mission Shenzhou-7.

The orbiter docking technology will be tested after the Shenzhou-7 mission, he said.

Spokesman: China to build space station in 2020_English_Xinhua

============

From other sources, the simple lab will be composed of Shenzhou-8, -9, and -10, launched successively within a month.

 

[gpit]

Famous Australian analyst Morris Jones has been, in my impression, critical in commenting Chinese space projects. It is relatively rare to see his compliments in the following article. Is it “too lavish” for him?
---------

Good Grades For Shenzhou 7
by Morris Jones
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Sep 29, 2008

The completion of the Shenzhou 7 space mission has been a major achievement for China. The principal goal of performing China's first spacewalk was accomplished without major problems.
Observers are calling the flight a success, and for good reason. If we look at the mission more closely, China has gained more from the flight than just a spacewalk. China's astronauts and mission planners have earned good grades on several points.

Firstly, China has now completed three manned space missions without experiencing catastrophic failures. Rumours of problems on China's first mission have circulated, and there could have been some difficulties on the second. The success of the third mission suggests that China has gradually debugged its relatively new spacecraft, and can expect a fairly high level of reliability on future missions.

Placing three astronauts on board the spacecraft was challenging to the logistics and also the management of mission activities. Apart from the need for more consumables, the astronauts have less room, and must conduct their movements and tasks with a high level of organization. China has again mastered this skill, which will be essential on the upcoming space station missions.

China has also demonstrated the ability to depressurize the Orbital Module of the spacecraft, used as an airlock on this flight. Hatches have been opened, closed, exposed to space, and opened again. Some minor problems were experienced with the exterior hatch of the Orbital Module, but does not seem to be a serious issue.

China's locally produced spacesuit has also been shown to work. The assembly of this suit on board the spacecraft was surprising, but it shows that China could probably conduct maintenance and repairs of its spacesuits during missions. This will be critical on space stations.

Communications with Shenzhou 7 were much better than for previous missions, thanks to the use of a new data-relay satellite in geosynchronous orbit. Coverage of future space station missions will be more continuous.

Previous reports had indicated that the small camera satellite carried on the mission would be used to cover the spacewalk. Shortly before liftoff, it was confirmed that this satellite would not be used for this purpose, and would only be deployed from the spacecraft after the spacewalk had finished.

Was there a sudden change of plans? China could have been concerned about the safety of its spacewalker. Having another spacecraft floating nearby could have been hazardous. Alternatively, this could have been the real plan since the beginning, and the earlier reportage could have been garbled.

The sub-satellite has given China experience in formation flying with the Shenzhou spacecraft, and later with the discarded Orbital Module that remained in space after the astronauts returned.

This will help China with the rendezvous and dockings to be performed by the next set of Shenzhou missions. It also has other applications, such as sending satellites to inspect other spacecraft for civilian or military purposes.

While the spacewalk was the major goal of the flight, China has proven its capabilities on several different spaceflight tasks. This has advanced the Shenzhou program a lot more than the Shenzhou 6 mission did in 2005.


Good Grades For Shenzhou 7

 

[gpit]

Chinese scientists start studying samples from Shenzhou-7

English_Xinhua 2008-10-07 12:24:14

LANZHOU, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists on Monday unsealed a box of solid lubricant samples that were aboard the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft. They will study the material for the next six months.

"Two types of solid lubricant samples, after being exposed to outer space during the Shenzhou-7 mission, had shown obvious changes," said Liu Weimin, head of the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in northwest Gansu Province.

"The appearance of the two types of samples has either turned dark or become rougher," he said.

Solid lubricants are widely used in spacecraft to reduce friction because they withstand high temperatures.

Scientists hoped to improve the stability and lifetime of the materials by studying the test samples taken to outer space.

Liu said scientists would compare the samples with those exposed to a simulated space environment in the laboratory.

"We need to know how the lubricants react to being in a vacuum, atomic oxygen and low temperatures in outer space," he said.

If scientists discover the difference between the two exposed lubricants, they might be able to tell how other materials change in outer space, Liu said.

The solid lubricant samples, loaded outside the Shenzhou-7 capsule and retrieved by astronaut Zhai Zhigang during his spacewalk, weighed about 2.2 kg. They were exposed to outer space for 44 hours.

The Shenzhou-7 space module, carrying three taikonauts, landed safely by parachute on Sept. 28 in China's northern grasslands after a 68-hour flight. The mission included the first ever spacewalk by a Chinese astronaut.

Picture released by China's manned space project on Oct. 5, 2008 shows the image of China's Shenzhou-7 spaceship, taken by a small monitoring satellite six seconds after it was released from the spaceship on Sept. 27, 2008. Launched about two hours after Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang finished the country's first spacewalk, the monitoring satellite has sent back over 1,000 pictures of the spaceship. The shadow on the spaceship was that of the monitoring satellite. (Xinhua Photo)