[FPSPACE] Suits For Shenzhou

[LARRY KLAES]

Suits For Shenzhou

The Chinese spacesuits designed for the EVA are dead ringers for the Russian 
Orlan suits.
by Morris Jones

Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 05, 2008

In the last months before China's first spacewalk, facts about the mission 
are slowly trickling out. China has been coy about releasing precise 
information on the spacesuit to be used or the tethering system to be used 
for the spacewalker. Other details, such as the number of astronauts who 
will be exposed to vacuum in the orbital module, are also hard to find in 
official statements.
But we can at least draw some inferences from television broadcasts in 
China's state-run media. Several of these have been clipped and posted to 
YouTube. Using "Shenzhou" or "China Astronaut" as search keywords will 
reveal them.

China Central Television (CCTV) has featured stories on the upcoming flight 
that show hardware being used in training. We have seen Chinese astronauts 
strapped into descent module simulators and rolled around on the ground, 
along with tests of the escape system for the launch tower. The latter looks 
particularly fun.

Full article here:

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Suits_For_Shenzhou_999.html