NewScientist.com October 15, 2003
China prepares to welcome first space hero
By Will Knight and David Chandler
China's first ever astronaut is scheduled to return to Earth at about 0600 Chinese time on Thursday (2200 GMT, Wednesday), after 21 hours orbiting the Earth. The parachute-assisted landing should bring the Shenzhou V ("divine vessel") spacecraft carrying Yang Liwei to touch down in the Gobi desert.
China became only the third nation to send a man into space when 38-year-old lieutenant colonel Yang was launched at 0100 GMT on Wednesday. His craft entered orbit 10 minutes later.
Yang passed the halfway mark of his historic mission at 1040 GMT by completing seven out of 14 Earth orbits. He spoke with family members via a video link-up and is reported to have slept for three hours and enjoyed two space meals.
The feat was acclaimed as "an historic step" by China's president and warmly praised by US and European space agencies, despite essentially duplicating what the US and the former Soviet Union did 42 years ago. The launch has already triggered suggestions from some analysts of a new space race, while others warn that China's key interest in space may be military.
Space leadership
Charles Vick, of GlobalSecurity.org, says China's future plans, which include developing an inhabitable space station and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars, could unsettle some international observers. "This represents a considerable threat to the Western leadership of space exploration and development," he told New Scientist. "The next US administration is going to have to approach this."
Vick also draws attention to the potential military applications of the technology developed for the mission. "You have to realise that this is being run by the Chinese military," he says.
The initial orbit of the craft was elliptical, varying between 200 km and 343 km altitude, according to official reports from the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center. At 0857 GMT, the ship was boosted into a circular orbit of 343 km. This manoeuvre is a key requirement for an accurate landing. Officials also told China's People's Daily newspaper that weather conditions were expected to favourable for the landing.
Test flights
Shenzhou V, like the four unmanned test versions that were launched since 2001, was placed in orbit by a Long March CZ-2F rocket, from the Jiuquan launch site in Gansu province. The rocket is over 58 metres long and weighs 480 tonnes, the longest and heaviest launch vehicle China has developed.
Although it cancelled plans to broadcast the launch live, China did make it public very rapidly, releasing the news just six minutes after liftoff.
Early reports had called Shenzhou a virtual copy of Russia's Soyuz, but it is actually quite different: larger, with much more electrical power (1200 kW) and an orbital module that can be left in space for possible reuse.
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