Word: shenzhou
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...rockets and vanished in a plume of smoke, never to be heard from again. With technology having improved significantly since then, the Chinese are on the verge of sending a Long March 2F rocket hurtling into space from a secret launch facility near the Gobi Desert. The payload: Shenzhou (divine vessel), a capsule carrying China's first astronaut. The mission: enter a low Earth orbit, circle the globe 14 times, then parachute to a landing zone on the Mongolian steppe. The goal: elevate China into the exclusive ranks of spacefaring nations...
...that, however, assumes the thing actually works. In contrast to the Mercury program, which was tested more than a dozen times before Alan Shepard became the first American in space in 1961, China's Shenzhou has flown on only four occasions. The reason for China's rush may be a political imperative to blast off on-or near-the Oct. 1 National Day. A successful flight will likely stoke the country's growing patriotic fervor. The celebrations could rival those that accompanied Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 1997 or China's selection two years ago to host...
...Other observers question whether Beijing merely knocked off Russia's manned program. Indeed, China's first two astronauts received instruction at Star City, the space-training center outside Moscow. China purchased a Soyuz spacecraft from Russia as a model for Shenzhou'sairframe, plus life-support systems and a single pressurized space suit. The Shenzhou bears a resemblance to the Soyuz, but with substantial Chinese modifications. In a clear advance over the Soyuz, the Shenzhou III employed a forward orbital module with a solar panel that remained in space. Future flights could one day dock with the module to form...
...scientists invited to participate in the World Space Congress in Houston, even though several were slated to present papers there. Physicist Sun Huixian was so angry about the American cold shoulder that he ordered his staff to use European equipment instead. A scientist who designs data-transmission systems for Shenzhou's scientific experiments, Sun says the change in suppliers has "made our work harder, but we're afraid one day the U.S. might...
...Meanwhile, China's new entrepreneurs are focusing, in true capitalist fashion, on how to exploit intergalactic travel for a quick buck. Stamps bearing the Shenzhou image have become collector's items, and the Jianlibao company promotes its sports drinks with pictures of an astronaut. Several companies have even applied to run their corporate logos on the side of the spacecraft for its first manned launch. "There are no such plans [to allow this] at present," state-run media responded. But when commerce and spaceships meet in China, the sky's the limit...