[FPSPACE] China to send at least 2 astronauts into outer space next fall: CAS academician

[Rex Hall]

Dwayne

I think it could be related to how the 5 year plans work in China. You plan
and ask for funding for a number of flights and it works well and hence you
have a gap. This plan demanded the first flight they did it in the time
period. The next set of missions is phase 2 hence the gap.

This phase should be fun as it will cover both the Voshkod / Soyuz period of
the Soviets and the Gemini program of the USA. Can they do it in say 4 or 5
missions rather than 10?

They are going to be a force in the future. Let's see how fast they move
through EVA and Docking. The next target is certainly just below a week in
orbit then a docking and EVA for Shenzhou VII and VIII. I bet they complete
all of this in a timescale better than 1961 to 1966 for the USA and 1961 and
1969 for the Soviets. 2004 to ??  

It must be fun being the new kid on the block.

Rex


-----Original Message-----
From: fpspace-bounces at friends-partners.org
[mailto:fpspace-bounces at friends-partners.org] On Behalf Of DwayneDay
Sent: 03 June 2004 22:47
To: fpspace
Subject: Re: [FPSPACE] China to send at least 2 astronauts into outer
spacenext fall: CAS academician

-----Original Message-----
From: Paolo Ulivi <paolo.ulivi at tiscali.it>

BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhuanet) -- China will send at least two astronauts 
into outer space in the fall next year, and they will stay there for at 
least one week, reported Thursday's The Beijing News, citing Yang 
Jiachi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

***********

This is essentially a reaffirmation of earlier reports.

I remain puzzled by the relative lack of ambition of the Chinese human
spaceflight program.  During the unmanned test phase they established a
launch rate of one flight per year.  After achieving their first piloted
flight, they announced that the next flight would be in two years.  That's a
long wait.  Why?

Our colleague, Mr. Siddiqi, once suggested that with China we may be
witnessing a "normal" human space development project, in other words, one
without the ticking clock of a space race to force a faster pace.  But that
was before SZ-5 and the drop in the launch rate.

My suspicion is that the key issue is money.  This is not a cheap program by
Chinese standards.  I suspect that the Chinese military, which must fund the
Shenzou program to a large extent, is reluctant to spend more money on it.
So they keep the flight rate really low.

One potential drawback of this is that it diminishes the rate of experience
gain.  Each new flight gives them more experience, but how much gets lost in
the long interim between missions?  NASA has been forced to consider the
same thing with regards to the shuttle flight rate--fly too few per year and
people lose their skills (something that should be considered in the long
hiatus for return to flight).


>"Possibly, Yang Liwei may not be chosen for this mission," Yang said.

You have to love how non-specific they are, huh?


DDAY



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