Fwd: Shenzhou 10 returns

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Date: June 26, 2013 2:43:25 PM GMT-06:00
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Subject: FW: Shenzhou 10 returns

China's Shenzhou-10 mission successful

 

English.news.cn   2013-06-26 15:45:23

BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Three astronauts who completed China's longest manned space mission returned to Earth safely Wednesday morning, marking another step towards the country's goal of building a permanent manned space station by 2020.

Zhang Youxia, commander-in-chief of China's manned space program, said the Shenzhou-10 mission was a "complete success".

The reentry capsule of Shenzhou-10 landed safely in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 8:07 a.m.. All three astronauts were in good physical condition.

Nie Haisheng, commander of the Shenzhou-10 crew and a second-time space traveler, was the first to emerge out of the module, followed by Wang Yaping, the only female astronaut of the mission, and Zhang Xiaoguang.

During a brief welcoming ceremony held at the landing area, the astronauts waved to a crowd composed of military officers, the search and recovery team, and health personnel.

"It feels really good to be back home," said Nie.

"We are dreamers, and we have now fulfilled our dream," said Zhang. "Our space dream knows no boundary, and our hard work will never cease," he said.

Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli was at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center and watched the live broadcast of the return.

"The complete success of the Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou-10 mission has further consolidated China's space rendezvous and docking expertise and marked a great success in achieving the second-phase target of the nation's manned space program," Zhang Gaoli said in a congratulatory letter read on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

NEW SPACE LAB, NEW ROCKETS

China will continue to carry out development and construction of a space laboratory and plans to launch Tiangong-2 space lab around 2015, an aerospace official told a press conference Wednesday.

Wang Zhaoyao, director of China's manned space program office, said the country plans to put in orbit an experimental core module of a space station around 2018 and complete the construction of a manned space station by 2020.

Prior to 2020, China will launch a series of cargo and manned spacecraft to deliver material supplies and transport astronauts to the future space lab and space station, according to Wang.

China will use new generation rockets with larger carrying capacities,said Yuan Jie, deputy general manager of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., at the press conference.

The Long March 5 carrier rocket will be used for the launching of the manned space station, and Long March 7 for carrying the cargo spacecraft for the station.

The new generation rockets will use new technologies. For example, new engines with non-toxic and non-polluting liquefied propellent will be used,which are safer and more environment friendly, according to Yuan.

The two types of rockets, both of which are under development, will be launched at a new launch site in south China's Hainan Province.

According to Yuan, the maiden flight for both rockets will be completed before 2015.

MULTI-FACETED ACHIEVEMENT

Shenzhou-10 is China's first application-oriented space flight.

Wang Zhaoyao said at the press conference that the success of the mission laid a solid foundation for the future construction of China's manned space station.

Compared with its previous mission Shenzhou-9 last year, Shenzhou-10 is no longer experimental but considered an applicable shuttle system for transporting astronauts and supplies to orbiting modules.

The achievements of the Shenzhou-10 mission is multi-faceted.

According to Wang, China has made breakthroughs in mastering extravehicular activities as well as rendezvous and docking technologies.

Moreover, he said, the country has mastered the technologies of controlling and operating the assembled complex of spacecraft and target orbiter, and initially establishing and improving the system for astronauts to stay in orbit.

China has gained benefits in the following three aspects from a series of spacecraft missions, Wang said.

Technically, the country has accumulated a huge amount of experimental data and flight experience.

China also carried out scientific and technical experiments in such fields as space-earth remote sensing, space life science, material science as well as environment survey, Wang said.

The missions have also helped consolidate the basis of China's aerospace technology, elevate the overall capabilities of the nation's space industry, boosted the development of basic science and applied science, and fostered a team of aerospace experts, he added.

In its 15-day journey in space, Shenzhou-10 docked with the orbiting space lab Tiangong-1 twice, once through automatic operation and the other manually.

The astronauts spent 12 days in Tiangong-1, where they conducted space medical experiments, technical tests and delivered a lecture to students on Earth about basic physics principles.

The lecture, given by Wang Yaping aboard the space module, was a highlight of the mission.

It is estimated that more than 60 million students and teachers at about 80,000 middle schools across the country watched the live broadcast of the 40-minute space lecture on television.

During the lecture, Wang introduced the motion in micro-gravity environments and surface tension of liquid in space, with several demonstrations, and answered questions from the students.

The lecture was successful, and some media said that it inspired the hope and passion for science and space among the Chinese youth, Wang Zhaoyao told the press conference.

Rigzin Jigme Doje, a high school freshman in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, said he was most impressed by Wang Yaping's demonstration of the "water ball" that illustrated the surface tension of water in a micro-gravity environment.

He said the lecture had reinforced his dream of becoming a physicist.

The Shenzhou-10 mission was the first high-profile space mission after Xi Jinping took office as China's president in March this year.

On June 24, Xi made a video call to the astronauts, during which he said "the space dream is part of the dream to make China stronger."

"With the development of space programs, the Chinese people will take bigger strides to explore further into space," the president said.

China is the third country after the United States and Russia to acquire the technologies and skills necessary for space rendezvous and docking procedures, as well as supply manpower and materials for an orbiting module via different docking methods.

Previous docking procedures conducted between Shenzhou-type spacecraft and the orbiting space lab included two automated dockings by the unmanned Shenzhou-8 in 2011 and both an automated and manual docking by the manned Shenzhou-9 in 2012.

Tiangong-1 has been in orbit for more than 600 days. The module is considered the first step in building a permanent space station in the future.

Since its first manned space mission in 2003, China has sent ten astronauts and six spacecrafts into space.

 

Copyright ©2013 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.

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Shenzhou 10 returns to Earth; crew in good spirits (UPDATED)

Editor's note...

• Posted at 09:11 PM EDT, 06/25/13: Shenzhou 10 returns to Earth after 15-day mission
• Updated at 09:55 PM EDT, 06/25/13: Crew leaves spacecraft; quotes and details

By WILLIAM HARWOOD
CBS News

After 15 days in space and two dockings with a prototype space station module, China's Shenzhou 10 spacecraft, carrying a veteran astronaut and two first-time fliers, fell back to Earth Tuesday (U.S. time), closing out the country's fifth manned spaceflight with an on-target landing.

The re-entry was carried live on Chinese television, with infrared shots of the spacecraft's long re-entry plume as it streaked across the sky, followed by inflation of its main parachute as it descended toward the landing zone in the Siziwang Qi region of Inner Mongolia.

The Shenzhou 10 descent module, resting on its side, moments after landing in Inner Mongolia. (Credit: CCTV)

With commander Nie Haisheng at the controls in the command module's center seat, flanked by Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping, China's second female astronaut, the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft settled to a jarring rocket-assisted touchdown around 8:07 p.m. EDT (GMT-4; 8:07 a.m. Wednesday local time).

The spacecraft appeared to be dragged a short distance by its still-inflated parachute before coming to a rest on its side. Mission duration as 14 days 14 hours and 29 minutes.

Recovery crews enter the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft for initial medical checks. All three crew members were said to be in good health. (Credit: CCTV)

Recovery forces stationed nearby reached the capsule within a few minutes, opened its main hatch and carried out initial medical checks. About an hour and a half after landing, Nie and his crewmates were helped out of the descent module, smiling and waving to recovery crews.

All three appeared healthy and in good spirits, accepting flowers and ceremonial scarves presented by a trio of colorfully dressed Mongolians.

The Shenzhou 10 crew after landing (left to right): Zhang Xiaoguang, commander  Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping. (Credit: CCTV)

"This is my second time to fly into space and this is a great privilege and honor for me," Nie said, resting in a chair near the descent module. "I feel very good back at home and at this moment what I want to say most is that space is our dream, that ... I want to wish for a more prosperous future for our country and better life for our people. I would like to thank all the people in China for their support."

Speaking from the Chinese mission control center, Zhang Gaoli, China's vice premier, congratulated "the astronauts and all the technicians, experts and families of the workers on the successful conclusion of this mission."

Following past practice, Nie and his crewmates were expected to be flown to Beijing for more extensive medical exams, debriefings and reunions with friends and family.

Shenzhou 10 was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center atop a Long March-2F rocket on June 11. Nie, veteran of a 2005 Shenzhou flight, monitored an automated docking with the Tiangong 1 space station module two days later.

Amid a full slate of science and technology development experiments, Wang delivered a space lecture broadcast to more than 60 million school kids. Last weekend, the crew undocked and Nie guided the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft to a manual linkup in another test of rendezvous procedures.

Monday evening, the crew undocked a final time, carrying out yet another close approach and ground-commanded flyby before departing Tiangong 1 for good.

The Shenzhou 10 mission "carries the space dream of the Chinese nation," President Xi Jinping told the crew before launch. "It will also show the Chinese passion to reach for the stars and reach into space. You have made all of us very proud."

The Shenzhou 10 flight was the latest in a series of incremental steps laying the groundwork for assembly of a much larger Mir-class space station around the end of the decade. Building a large space station is the official goal of China's manned space program.

During the mission, Xi called the crew again, telling them "the space dream is part of the dream to make China stronger. With the development of space programs, the Chinese people will take bigger strides to explore further into the space."

"This is your time in space," he radioed, his words translated by Central China Television. "Have you gotten accustomed to the work and life there?"

"President Xi, during the past 13 days in space, we've quickly become accustomed to zero gravity," Nie replied. "I feel good in all respects. We have made smooth progress on our space sxperiments. Right now, we all feel energetic and enthusiastic. We are committed to our space mission."

Wang told Xi the crew enjoyed a "normal" diet and "we can all rest seven to eight hours each day."

"I also served as a teacher in space, demonstrating to youngsters across China physical phenomena in the zero-gravity environment," she said. "For me, it's an opportunity to learn and improve."

Xi told the crew the space lecture was carried live to more than 60 million students in some 80,000 schools across the nation.

"It was of great significance," he said. "It helps them develop an interest in science and space exploration. We hope you focus on your work, closely cooperate with each other and complete the rest of your work. We all look forward to your triumphant return."

China became the third nation, after the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia, to launch a manned spacecraft in October 2003 when Yang Liwei blasted off aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft.

Shenzhou 6, carrying two crew members, was successfully launched in October 2005 and Shenzhou 7, carrying a three-man crew, flew in September 2008.

In September 2011, Tiangong 1 was launched to serve as a target for rendezvous and docking missions. One month after the solar-powered module reached orbit, China launched the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, which carried out an automated rendezvous and televised docking with the research module two days later.

China followed that flight by launching two men and a woman on the Shenzhou 9 mission in June 2012. They carried out the program's first manned rendezvous and docking.

Joan Johnson-Freese, an expert on China's space program, told CBS News the latest mission was aimed at gathering the experience needed to build the larger space station planned later this decade.

"After this, they supposedly will move on to Tiangong 2, which will allow them to keep a crew of three in orbit for 20 days," she said before launch. "It's all building to part three, which is the space station they will launch when they have the capability to launch it on the Long March 5 (rocket)."

© 2011 William Harwood/CBS News

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Space capsule returns from mission to Chinese lab

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN | Associated Press 

 

View Photo
Associated Press/Xinhua,Ren Junchuan - In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou 10 spacecraft lands in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous …more 

 

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese space capsule with three astronauts landed safely Wednesday on the country's northern grasslands after a 15-day trip to a prototype space station, marking the latest success for China's manned space program as it enters its second decade.

The Shenzhou 10's descent module landed by parachute in the vast territory of Inner Mongolia early Wednesday with the three crew members smiling and waving on live television after wriggling through the blackened capsule's narrow hatch.

"Space is our dream, the fatherland is our home. Thanks to all compatriots who supported us and best wishes for the wealth and success of our fatherland and the ever greater happiness of our people," mission commander and two-time space traveler Nie Haisheng said to the cameras.

Wang Haiping, China's second female astronaut to complete a mission, said the trip had been especially worthwhile for the opportunity to conduct China's first science class in space, beamed live to 60 million schoolchildren across the country.

"I hope all our young friends may wish beautiful dreams and may their dreams come true," said Wang, who, like her two colleagues, was still clad in her space suit and seated under bright sunshine in white folding chairs in front of the round-edged module.

Back at the Beijing command center, manned space program director Zhang Youxia declared the mission — China's longest to date — a "complete success" and said all three astronauts were in perfect health.

He was followed by the Communist Party's seventh-ranked official, Zhang Gaoli, who conveyed congratulations from the party leadership and declared that the manned program was entering a new and more challenging stage.

The program has "tremendous significance for the advance of our country's economic and technological strength and ethnic unity, and displays the great Chinese path, spirit and power," Zhang said.

China's military-backed space program is a source of massive national pride, and the successful mission stands as the latest milestone in the party's smooth consolidation of support under its new leader, President Xi Jinping, who also commands the armed forces.

China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third nation after Russia and the United States to achieve manned space travel independently, and has powered ahead in a series of methodically timed steps. Meanwhile, the American program, now in its sixth decade of putting people into space, routinely works on the International Space Station and has long-term plans to go to an asteroid and Mars.

The latest Chinese mission was the second crewed trip to the Tiangong 1 experimental space station, launched in 2011. It's due to be replaced by a three-module permanent station, Tiangong 2, seven years from now.

The future station will weigh about 60 tons, slightly smaller than NASA's Skylab of the 1970s and about one-sixth the size of the 16-nation International Space Station. China was barred from participating in the ISS, largely because of U.S. objections over political differences and the Chinese program's close military links.

Work on Tiangong 2 is going according to plan, and the station's laboratory module should be launched around 2015, another leading manned space program official, Wang Zhaoyao, told a news conference Wednesday. He said its core module would be launched around 2018 and the entire station assembled by 2020.

Alongside the manned program, China is developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch the Tiangong 2. It also plans to send a rover to the moon, possibly followed by a crewed lunar mission if officials decide to combine the human spaceflight and lunar exploration programs.

 

Copyright © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 

 

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Three Chinese Astronauts Land After Record-Breaking Spaceflight

by Mike Wall, SPACE.com Senior Writer

25 June 2013 Time: 08:15 PM ET

 

 

 

The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou 10 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia on June 25, 2013. CREDIT: CCTV View full size image

A Chinese space capsule carrying three astronauts returned safely to Earth Tuesday (June 25), wrapping up the longest manned space mission in the nation's history.

The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft touched down at 8:08 p.m. EDT Tuesday (0008 GMT), capping a 15-day mission to China's orbiting Tiangong 1 lab module. The spacecraft landed in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where the local time was 8:08 a.m. on Wednesday.

During their time aboard Tiangong 1, Nie Haisheng, Wang Yaping (the second Chinese woman to fly in space) and Zhang Xiaoguang performed a variety of experiments, beamed a microgravity science lesson down to 330 schoolkids and chatted with President Xi Jinping. [Photos: China's Shenzhou 10 Space Mission in Pictures]

Xi lauded the three taikonauts (as Chinese astronauts are called) during the phone call on Monday (June 24) and stressed that their mission is part of a broader plan to advance China's presence and capabilities in the final frontier.

"The space dream is part of the dream to make China stronger. With the development of space programs, the Chinese people will take bigger strides to explore further into space," Xi said, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Shenzhou 10 launched June 11 and docked automatically with Tiangong 1 two days later. The spaceships separated briefly on Saturday (June 22) before joining up again, this time in a manual docking with Nie piloting the Shenzhou 10. The vessels detached for good on Monday evening (June 24), with Shenzhou 10 then flying around the lab module in a rendezvous test.

Such spaceflight maneuvers are viewed as key steps toward the construction and long-term occupancy of an orbiting space station, which China hopes to have up and running by 2020.

The Shenzhou 10 mission was China's fifth human spaceflight. The nation first launched a taikonaut in October 2003, sending Yang Liwei into orbit for 21 hours. A two-person crew spent five days in space two years later, and three taikonauts blasted off on a three-day trip in September 2008.

The next manned mission was Shenzhou 9, which sent three taikonauts — including Liu Yang, China's first woman in space — on the first flight to Tiangong 1 in June 2012. The 13-day mission featured automatic and manual dockings with the lab module, as Shenzhou 10 did.

Tiangong 1 launched to Earth orbit in September 2011 and was first visited by the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft two months later. China plans to launch a larger module, called Tiangong 2, later this year. ("Tiangong" means "Heavenly Palace" in Chinese, while "Shenzhou" is typically translated as "Divine Vessel.")

 

Copyright © 2013 TechMediaNetwork.com All rights reserved.

 

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Chinese astronauts land safely after "perfect" space mission

 

View Photo
Reuters/Reuters - Ground crew talks to astronaut Nie Haisheng before helping him out of the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou-10 spacecraft after it landed at its main landing site in north China's Inner …more

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Wednesday, touching down in north China's Inner Mongolia after a successful 15-day mission in which they docked with an experimental manned space laboratory.

The Shenzhou 10 spacecraft, China's fifth manned space mission since 2003, completed the final trial docking with the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1, critical in Beijing's quest to build a working space station by 2020.

China Central Television showed the re-entry of the capsule, dangling from an orange parachute, and its landing on flat grasslands shortly after 8 a.m. China time.

China successfully carried out its first manned docking exercise with Tiangong 1 last June, a milestone in an effort to acquire the technological and logistical skills to run a full space station that can house people for long periods.

The Shenzhou 10 was commanded by Nie Haisheng, with Zhang Xiaoguang and female astronaut Wang Yaping also on board.

The astronauts began emerging about 90 minutes after landing, helped out of the nose of the capsule by workers in white jumpsuits and into waiting chairs, smiling and waving to the TV camera.

"It's good to be home," Nie told CCTV. "Space is our dream. The motherland is always our home."

Wang gave a 50-minute televised physics lecture last week on the effects of weightlessness, widely viewed by middle school students around the country.

"This mission made me realize two dreams: my dream of flying to outer space, and my dream of being a teacher," she told CCTV. "If you have a dream, you can succeed."

The Global Times, a tabloid published by the same company that puts out the official Communist Party newspaper the People's Daily, echoed some criticism among the public about the expense of China's space programme.

"Currently, China's passion to develop space technology mainly lingers at the government level. Some even blame the government for political vanity and question whether the money couldn't be spent improving people's livelihoods," the paper said in an editorial, published before the landing.

The mission went "perfectly", Wang Zhaoyao, director of China's manned space programme, said at a news conference in Beijing.

China is still far from catching up with the established space superpowers, the United States and Russia, which decades ago learned the docking techniques carried out by the Shenzhou 10.

China must still master launching cargo and fuel via space freighters and recycling air and water for extended manned missions, state media have said. Plans call for a working space lab, the Tiangong 2, to be put into orbit in two years.

Beijing insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted China's increasing space capabilities and said Beijing is pursuing a variety of activities aimed at preventing its adversaries from using space-based assets during a crisis.

(Reporting and writing by Terril Yue Jones and Michael Martina.; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Copyright © 2013 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. 

 

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