Sunday, September 07, 2008

China's ready to head for orbit again

China's third human spaceflight mission, Shenzhou VII, is set for launch later this month. The flight will feature the first EVA or "spacewalk" by a "yuhangyuan" (the popular term "taikonaut" has never made it into official CHiense usage). Three men will be on board.
COMMENT: China is effectively telescoping the history of previous human spaceflight programs: first flight, followed by first ulti-person flight, followed by first EVA flight. Their program shows what can be done given the body of knowledge and technology available as a starting point (and, of course, plenty of money).

No comments: