China's rapidly developing space programme
China on Thursday successfully launched an experimental craft paving the way for its first space station, bringing the growing Asian power closer to matching the United States and Russia with a long-term manned outpost in space.
September 30, 2011 / 10:20 IST
China on Thursday successfully launched an experimental craft paving the way for its first space station, bringing the growing Asian power closer to matching the United States and Russia with a long-term manned outpost in space.
Here are some facts about China's space exploration programme:-- China launched its first manned space mission in October 2003 when astronaut Yang Liwei orbited Earth 14 times. The former fighter pilot from China's northeastern rust belt of Liaoning became a hero overnight and was mobbed whenever he appeared in public.Two years later, China's second manned spacecraft blasted off, this time carrying two astronauts, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng.China carried out its first spacewalk in 2008. Zhai Zhigang remained outside the craft for just shy of 20 minutes.-- China's first satellite lifted off on the Long March rocket in April 1970, which orbited Earth blasting the Cultural Revolution anthem, "The East is Red."-- A base built in 1958 and located in a remote desert region of northwestern China is the centre of the manned space programme. Dubbed "East Wind Space City", the Jiuquan centre is home to some 15,000 scientists and support staff.-- In 2007, China launched its first moon orbiter, the Chang'e One orbiter, named after a lunar goddess, which took images of the surface and analysed the distribution of elements.That launch marked the first step in China's three-stage moon mission, to be followed by an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover planned for 2013 and the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017.Chinese scientists have talked of the possibility of sending a man to the moon after 2020.-- China has insisted its programme is peaceful and that it does not wish to see an arms race in space. However, in 2007 the US military shot down a disabled US spy satellite with China shattered one of its aging weather satellites with a ground-based missile, which drew international criticism and prompted Pentagon worries that China had the ability to target military assets in space. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
