Shenzhou-7
China’s Third Manned Spaceflight
Key to the Future Planning
© By Charles P. Vick (All Rights Reserved)
Senior Analyst, Globalsecurity.org
09-21-29/10-07-2008
Disclaimer The opinions and evaluations stated here in are only the authors and cannot be construed to reflect those of any government agency, company, institute or association. It is based on public information, circumstantial evidence, informed speculation, and official PRC Chinese government. As with all data regarding the Chinese space programs, this analysis is subject to revision--and represents a work in progress. It reflects the total open source analysis process and previous studies using the same information analysis process.
The Yuhangyuan (Taikonauts) Crew of Shennzhou-7
This is the first time China's fledgling manned space program has attempted to launch a three man with a three man crew back-up crew also present. All three Taikonauts (as they are called in the Peoples Republic of China) are Chinese communist party members and constituted the back-up crew for the successful Shenzhou-6 mission. This three man crew consists of:
- Liu Boming is 42 year old from the People's Liberation Army, as an Air Force pilot, and will serve as the EVA engineer pilot in the orbital module for potential rescue of the prime EVA Yuhangyuan (taikonauts) if he gets in trouble during his 40 minute EVA (20 minutes outside) outside the spacecraft. He will be wearing the Russian designed "Orlan" EVA spacesuit purchased from the Star design bureau of Moscow during and for the mission.
- Jing Haipeng is 42 years old from the People's Liberation Army, as an Air Force pilot, will remain sealed in pressurized descent module environment during EVA vacuum operations.
- Zhai Zhigang is a 41 year old Pilot Colonel in the People's Liberation Army, and has been in the Air Force since 1985. He is married, with one son, and has demonstrated over 1,000 hour's safe flight record to his credit. He is to be the prime EVA Engineer. He will be wearing a Chinese developed "Feithian" spacesuit based on the Russian Orlan design technology that apparently will be attached by umbilical instead of being free of the spacecraft for communications support.
Shenzhou-7 Spacecraft
This will be the standard Shenzhou spacecraft with an orbital module that will not this time be carrying its own two solar arrays and associated autonomous systems or its independent sixteen attitude maneuvering thrusters. Hand rails and five pressures spheres have been added to the orbital module. Basically the Shenzhou spacecraft is an enlarged three section spacecraft resembling the Soyuz design characteristics. In this sense it is carrying a standard rear instrument propulsion module with its two larger solar arrays for power production and three man crew bell shaped descent module above it with a forward cylindrical like orbital module that will eventually carry a docking system for space assembly operations.
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