The Hong Kong Science Museum hosts the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Exhibition, which showcases more than thirty items of Chinese launchers and satellite models and full-scale mockups.

Tung Chee Hwa, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), officiated at the opening ceremony yesterday afternoon.

Also officiating at the opening ceremony are the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong SAR Ma Yuzhen, Commander of People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison Lieutenant General Xiong Ziren, and Deputy Director of Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR Liu Shanzai, as well as officials from Hong Kong SAR government.

Joint organizers of the exhibition are the Hong Kong Science Museum and the Hong Kong Space Museum of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The parties signed the agreement only two weeks ago on August 4.

Chartered trains were used to transport various models and mockups from Beijing to Shenzhen, a large city in Guangdong Province immediately bordering Hong Kong. The cargo then crossed the border and arrived at the Museum in the early morning hours last Wednesday (Aug. 16). However, a few model components were too large to go through a train tunnel in Hong Kong. These components were shipped by barge and then trucked to the Museum on flatbed vehicles.

Technicians from the Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and Museum staff worked very hard to set up the exhibition in a period of a few days.

FSW-2 3 recoverable satellite. (Photo: Mingpao)

Through models and display panels of photos and text, the exhibition introduces visitors to the history and achievements of space development in China, and application of space technologies in everyday life.

The exhibition has five areas. The four indoor exhibit sections include the Shenzhou manned capsule, Changzheng ("Long March") launch vehicles, artificial satellites and space technology application, and history of the Chinese space program. Displayed outdoor at the Museum's square is the full-scale mockup of a section of the CZ-2F payload fairing shroud and the escape tower, which measures 20 meters in height.

The star attraction of the exhibition is the full-scale mockup of the Shenzhou spacecraft. At 10 meters tall, the mockup contains all three segments of the spacecraft: propulsion, reentry and orbital modules. A set of 30-meter long solar panels on the propulsion module are fully deployed.

According to the Museum the mockup is the backup unit, and an exact replica, of the Shenzhou spacecraft that successfully completed its maiden voyage last November.

Also displayed in this section are the descent parachutes and some of the payloads that were aboard the Shenzhou mission, for example, the national and Hong Kong SAR flags, space seeds, commemorative stamp envelopes and other souvenirs.

In the launch vehicle section, various models of the Changzheng series of rockets are showcased. These include CZ-1, -2, -2C, -2C enhanced, -2D, -2E, -2F, -3, -3A, -3B, -4A and -4B.

A few satellite models are on display in the artificial satellites section, such as Dongfanghong-3 comsat, China-Brazil Earth Resource Satellite (CBERS-1, also called Ziyuan-1 in China), and the actual flight hardware of the 17th recoverable satellite FSW-2 3 (Fanhui Shi Weixing, meaning "Retrievable Test Satellite").

The recoverable satellite, primarily a photoreconnaissance and remote sensing mission, was launched on October 20, 1996 and recovered six weeks later on December 3. Visitors can clearly see the charred surface of the recovered vehicle. This is the worldwide d�but of the recoverable satellite.

Yip Chee-kuen, Chief Curator of Hong Kong Science Museum, notes that this exhibition contains more detailed information on the Chinese space program than the last exhibition that was held ten years ago.

Organizers spent about $15 million HK ($2 million US) to set up the exhibition. The Science Museum hopes to attract 100,000 visitors.

Even though most large displays are models, they are part of the national resource. The Museum installed close circuit TVs, motion sensors and hired security guards on 24-hour security monitoring. The Museum also purchased an insurance policy of over $50 million HK ($7 million US) for the entire special exhibition.

Organizers have also prepared supplementary activities to highlight the Chinese space program and raise fund for the China Space Foundation, which is an organization that fosters academic exchange in research and development of Chinese space technologies, and expands public education.

The supplementary activities include screening documentary films, delivering technical lectures and selling space souvenirs.

Visitors have a range of souvenirs to choose from, including commemorative stamps, silver medallions, small metal strips that were flown in space, and a very limited collector edition of sterling silver Shenzhou scaled models.

The fundraising target is $20 - 30 million HK ($2.5 - 4 million US).

The Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Exhibition opens today to the public and runs until October 22.

China is taking the opportunity to proudly show the world its space program and capabilities. With the rumoured launch of Shenzhou-2 near the National Day on October 1, the timing of this major exhibition is perhaps not so coincidental.