China Astronauts Ready for footprint in space
Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 11:41 am
BEIJING: Chinese astronauts prepared for the nation’s first space walk on Saturday, readying the 120-kg (265lb) suit one of them will wear for what state media called a 20-minute “baptism.”
The walk, marking the highpoint of China’s third manned space journey, is due at 4:30 pm (0830 GMT).
In the hours beforehand, two of the Shenzhou VII craft’s three astronauts tried out the hulking suits needed to protect them from outside extremes 343 kilometers (213 miles) above the Earth, state television said.
Zhai Zhigang, the 41-year-old son of a snack-seller chosen for the first “extra-vehicular activity,” will don a $4.4 million Chinese-made suit. Fellow astronaut Liu Boming will wear a Russian-made one and act as a back-up for changes or mishaps.
The walk of about 20 minutes — 40 counting time outside the capsule — is a step toward China’s longer-term goal of assembling a space lab and then a larger space station. The fast-growing Asian power wants to be sure of a say in how space and its potential resources are used.
China’s Communist Party leaders and the country’s state-run media are also celebrating the latest space mission as an orbiting embodiment of national strength and pride.
“On this flight, Chinese people’s footprints will be left in space for the first time,” stated a media commentary. “This will give the world yet something else to marvel about China in this extraordinary year of 2008.”
Zhai’s suit has 10 layers and weighs about 120 kg. It takes up to 15 hours to assemble and put on.
China’s first manned spaceflight was in 2003, and a second, two-manned flight followed in 2005, making it the only country apart from Russia and the United States capable of sending people into space. The Shenzhou VII took off on Thursday and will return in the next day or two, landing on China’s northern steppes.
While out in space, Zhai will make tests and launch a football-sized “companion satellite” to monitor the walk and broadcast it back to Earth, where many millions of Chinese people are likely to view the feat on television.
|
|
|
From World:
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Todays news from Pakistan News
- Greek Parliament Approves Austerity Measures Amid Clashes
- PM Yousuf Raza Gilani Charged With Contempt
- Gujarat Riots: High Court Slams Narendra Modi Govt For Failing
- Syria’s Homs Suffers ‘Heaviest’ Shelling
- Gilani Files Appeal In Contempt Case
Advertisement
Email Subscription
Advertisement
