The newspaper quoted background information on the Shenzhou spacecraft program in an article written by Wang Yongzhi, Chief Designer of the Chinese manned space project and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). Wang's article appears in the CAE publication "Frontiers of Chinese Science and Technology".

Wang wrote that project engineers chose a modular approach to design the Shenzhou spacecraft and decided that Shenzhou would have three modules: Propulsion, Orbital and Descent modules.

Each of these modules constituted its own design and development program. There were three other major design and development programs among the many within the overall Shenzhou manned spacecraft program. These programs were: two sets of solar arrays, lifting control reentry, and the descent parachute.

The article claims that the Shenzhou Descent Module is the largest among other similar designs such as the Soyuz spacecraft of Russia and the Mercury and Gemini capsules of the United States.

The larger size of the Shenzhou Descent Module suggests that the design and development of the Chinese manned spacecraft is indigenous even though it may be modeled after the Russian vehicles. Chinese space officials have claimed all along that Shenzhou is solely a domestic product.

This claim was further supported by comments from two former Russian cosmonauts who visited China a year ago. After spending a week with Chinese space officials in an exchange of technical information, the two former cosmonauts concluded that Shenzhou was "no doubt domestically built, but in essence it was a copy of Russian space technologies."

The Descent Module of Shenzhou is sandwiched between the Orbital and Propulsion Modules. At the forward end of the Descent Module is a hatch through which yuhangyuans ("astronauts") can access the Orbital Module.

Inside the Descent Module are three reclining seats. Forward to the lower end of the seats are the instrument panels, a hand controller and an optical sight.

The front section of Shenzhou is the Orbital Module, the living and working area of the spacecraft. On the exterior of the Orbital Module are a pair of solar arrays, sun sensors, communications antennae and a docking structure.

At the other end of Shenzhou is the Propulsion Module, which controls the spacecraft attitude and orbital manoeuvers. The Propulsion Module is equipped with four main engines and manoeuvering thrusters. Attached to the exterior of the module is a pair of solar arrays with an area of more than 20 square metres.

A reporter from the newspaper asked about the current status of yuhangyuan training and their selection. A space official replied that the current class of yuhangyuans were selected from among a thousand active fighter pilots.

The space official said, "In the selection process consideration is given not only to basic qualities [of the candidate] such as sex, age, education and flying experience, more importantly decisions are made through medical, physiological and psychological examinations and the cadidate's ability to adapt to unusual environment."

According to the space official there are three stages in yuhangyuan training. The initial stage is basic training which involves physiological, medical and fundamental space knowledge training.

In the second stage skill training, yuhangyuans go through all kinds of task, spacecraft facility and space experiment operation training.

The final stage is the integrated training which focuses on large scale space operation training and simulations.

The space official added that yuhangyuans are undergoing training and simulations at the training centre according to plan.

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