China Sends First Taikonaut To Space 915
tuxlove writes "Space.com reports that China has just
successfully launched its first manned space mission. "Blasting off from a remote space base in the Gobi Desert atop a Long March 2F rocket,
a single Chinese astronaut named Yang Liwei is on his way
to circle the planet every 90 minutes aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. As a result, China has become only the third nation on Earth capable of
independently launching its citizens into orbit. " Perhaps this will kick the US space program back into gear?"
aerojad points to this
Reuters report, about which he says "The article is short on details, aside from 'Xinhua said the craft carried
astronaut Yang Liwei, 38. The launch on Wednesday, 42 years after the Soviet Union put the first man into space, marked a milestone for China's
secretive space programme, which analysts say has its sights set on a manned mission to the moon.' The mission is due to end in 21 hours."
zxm adds a link to China
Daily's coverage, and puiwah to a story on MSNBC.
The tricky part (Score:3, Interesting)
That's nice and all, but isn't the tricky part bringing them back?
Let's see what happens in 21 hours.
I want flyover info (Score:3, Interesting)
Like it needs to be said, but if anybody stumbles across that information, totally post it.
Re:why no broadcast? (Score:2, Interesting)
First single flyer since 1960s. (Score:5, Interesting)
Sadly, Komarov (the pilot of Soyuz 1) died when his spacecraft impacted the ground. I hope this brave Chinese pilot will have better luck.
TAIKONAUTS GO!
Both tricky... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Both tricky... (Score:3, Interesting)
(Also, note how many probes have had glitches while cruising in space and recovered versus how many have recovered from take-off or landing mistakes.)
Re:Nice, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
I for one applaud China for taking the initiative in the field of aerospace at a time when the rest of the world is facing inward, worrying about their stagnating economy or a petty squabble in the middle east*. Hopefully they will progress further succesfully and rapidly - we haven't had nearly enough development in aviation since the X-15 project was scrapped.
* I mean no disrespect to the Isreali nor Palestinian dead by this. Current events in that region are tragic, I merely wish that as humans we could rise above it and focus ourselves on more lofty goals as the Chinese have...
Congrats (Score:3, Interesting)
*Way to go China*
Kudos to all of the people involved.
Heres hoping for a safe and uneventful journey.
Merlin.
Re:Welcome (Score:3, Interesting)
They will catch up quick. In fact, they are basically all caught up as of today. China doesn't have to build a shuttle to catch... in fact, they and the ISS are slowing US down... so those things are going to make it easier for China to catch up.
China is saying "space science is still important". We can agree or disagree, but we can't sit on our laurels and expect it to last long.
space base in the gobi desert.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Outside Verification? (Score:0, Interesting)
The pictures released by the Chinese media appear to be forged (I'm no rocket scientist, no pun intended), don't rockets typically have some form of a visable exhaust cloud/contrail?
Additionally, the rocket plume looks a little *too* ordered, and the launch vehicle itself looks a little *too* sharp around the edges, as if they knew exactly what focal length they set the cameras for (kind of like a cheap model)
Maybe with luck the Chinese will release actual footage of the launch?
Don't get me wrong, if they did it, cool beans. But between the first capsule tests and first manned launch, seems to be just a little too error free, and a little too quick in the achievements department to be real. Considering the craft is a knockoff of the Soyuz capsules, it still takes a while to get the engineering just right.
Jealously never won a space race (Score:5, Interesting)
I am simply flabbergasted. Instead of congratulating the Chinese for a well planned, robust and cheap human space effort, which it is, there are literaly hundreds of hateful, ignorant, racist posts filled to the brim with spite and jealously. And I think it's a real problem with a lot of Americans because it happens so consistently. You want to know why so much of the world has a poor opinion of the USA? Read slashdot, where the supposedly technophile elite make comments based on a lack of knowledge, a sense of low self esteem and jealousy.
In my opinion, if there is anything that will be the undoing of the USA, it is those attitudes, because jealousy never won a space race. There's an old saying that basing one's actions on jealousy or envy is a guarantee of failure.
You want my real opinion? No, you don't but here it is anyway.
The China of today is, if anything, a fascist market state. The ignorance displayed here on Chinese (well, on any non US) poiltics is symbolic of a nation stearing blindly to its own future. The nominally Communist party has very little in common with collectivisation or any other tenets of Marx or Mao's preachings.
The Chinese have achieved a human launch in space with a well paced programme that has taken it's time and not rushed things, which is why this has gone so smoothly. It has done this with a budget that is less than 1/7th of NASA's. And before you start yet another round of 30 year old technology trolling, may I point out to you that the computing power in the Chinese rocketry is at least 20 years newer than that in the Space Shuttle.
NASA would be well advised to take a lesson from the simplicity and pacing of the Chinese programme.
Re:Jealously never won a space race (partly OT) (Score:4, Interesting)
The China of today is, if anything, a fascist market state. The ignorance displayed here on Chinese (well, on any non US) poiltics is symbolic of a nation stearing blindly to its own future. The nominally Communist party has very little in common with collectivisation or any other tenets of Marx or Mao's preachings.
Sorry for going off-topic. Honestly speaking, I see very little difference between practical applications of Fascism (3rd Reich, Mussolini's Italy) and Communism (Soviet Union, China). The rhetoric is different, but the practical effects are similar: a totalitarian state. Minorities (Jews or Tibetans or whatever) are persecuted, no criticism of the government is allowed, censorship and corruption are part of everyday life, military has a very important role in politics, ... the rant goes on and on.
A political decision ("put more money in a space program") is made in an entirely different environment in the USA. When the small, monolithic elite decides something in China, everyone has to shut up, expect when they are told to cheer. In USA, congress, elections, mass media and all the NGO:s influence the politics. Threefolding the Space Program spending for a decade is so much easier when you have no checks or balances.
Re:Fido-to-go. (Score:2, Interesting)
The pigeon didn't die and I kept it for about three months (until it was strong enough to fly). During these three months I "studied" it and I realized it was far more intelligent than I ever thought. After I released it, I continued to put some food in my backyard and pay more attention to these birds. I now know these birds are really intelligent and each one has it's own "personality".
I don't know about cows, buffalo or other animals as I never studied them but I guess you don't have any clue either. In fact by your comments about pigs I guess you're a muslim trying hard to justify the rules imposed by your culture and your religion. I'm sorry but if you believe something simply because everyone else around you does, then you are stupid.