Special Report: Third Manned Space Mission
Backgrounder: Chinese
footprints in outer space
by Xinhua writer Lou Chen
BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A small step by Zhai Zhigang, China's first spacewalker, has been a historical leap in China's space dreams.
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The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008
in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang is outside the
orbital module. (Xinhua Photo) |
The 42-year-old man ventured out of the
earth-orbiting Shenzhou-7 spacecraft at about 4:43 p.m. Saturday, and became the
first Chinese to leave a "footprint in the universe."
Millions of Chinese who watched his feat on
television may not know Alexei Leonov, the first human to walk in space in 1965,
or Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the Moon in 1969, but they
will remember the first Chinese "space rambler."
Another advancement in the space hall of fame for
China -- it is now the third country in the world after the United States and
Russia to be capable of spacewalk.
The success of the spacewalk is one step further
towards China's longer-term goal to have a space lab and eventually a space
station. It will enable the nation to take up more responsibility in mankind's
peaceful use of space resources.
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The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008
in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang outside module
after opening the door of the orbital module. (Xinhua
Photo) |
Symbolically, the mission adds an upbeat note to an
eventful year that saw the January blizzard and the May earthquake. It is seen
as another source of pride and joy for the people after the Olympics.
But the national also should clearly see the distance
between China and the United States and Russia, which accomplished the tasks
decades earlier. Compared with these countries, China is still late-comer and
only taking its starting steps.
Since ancient times, the abysmal space has been
source of inspiration for artistic creations such as poems and cave paintings in
the oriental country. Legend has that the first astronaut may have been a
Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644) government official Wan Hu, who strapped
himself onto a primitive "space-voyager" made of a chair, two kites and 47
gunpowder fuses.
Such space dream came to be realized in a modern
China. and it took off on the back of solid economic success.
China's first manned space program, Shuguang (Dawn)
1, was initiated in 1971, but was aborted five years later due to lack of
funding and low levels of technology.
The project was rekindled in 1986 as part of the
"Program 863",a state-sponsored initiative to support the development of
advanced technologies in a wide range of fields. That was the eighth year of
reform and opening up, when its domestic output exceeded one trillion yuan. The
reforms have brought profound changes to China and continue to support its
future space exploration goals.
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The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008
in Beijing, China, shows Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang waves after
opening the door of the orbital module. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
Different from the space race of the cold-war era,
China's space pursuits are to explore and make peaceful use of the space without
intentions at any rivalry.
It also has been thrift in developing the program by
making big leaps rather than repeating missions that have already succeeded.
A 14-astronaut squad was set up in 1998. The first
manned space flight was in 2003, in which Yang Liwei spent 21 hours in space. A
second flight in 2005 put two men Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng on a five-day
journey in space.
Looking back, the spacewalk was accomplished with a
spirit of innovation. The Feitian space suit, worn by the spacewalker, was
designed and made by Chinese scientists. The myriad of technologies that made
the mission possible proved the nation's advancing technical prowess. The
precision, creativity and dedication of those who worked for the mission will be
a mark the Chinese are encouraged to look to.
About five decades ago, when Qian Xuesen, China's
father of space technology, returned from the United States, hardly anyone had
seen a rocket with their own eyes, let alone building one. Decades later,
thousands of bright minds in aeronautics have been nurtured.
China has come a long way in its exploration into the
space and it will go further in the future.
BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese taikonaut Zhai
Zhigang slipped out of the orbital module of Shenzhou-7 Saturday afternoon,
starting China's first spacewalk or extravehicular activity (EVA) in the outer
space.
Donning a 4-million-U.S.dollar homemade Feitian space
suit, Zhai waved to the camera mounted on the service module after pulling
himself out of the capsule in a head-out-first position at 4:43 p.m. (0843 GMT),
video monitor at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) showed. Full story
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Chinese taikonauts Zhai Zhigang and Liu
Boming try their space suits in the orbit module of the Shenzhou-7
spacecraft, in this video grab taken on Sept. 26, 2008. The Shenzhou-7
spacecraft, which blasted off at 9:10 p.m. Thursday at the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, has
functioned well as planned. (Xinhua/Zha Chunming)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese
taikonauts have moved from re-entry module of Shenzhou-7 spacecraft to its
orbital module, starting preparations for China's first space walk.
Two crew members are testing the functions of the
control panels and charging the EVA (extra-vehicular activities) space
suit. Full story
