Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




DRAGON SPACE
China's Shenzhou-7 Mission Passes Final Joint Check
by Staff Writers
Jiuquan, China (XNA) Sep 24, 2008


The undated photo shows technicians help the Shenzhou-7 manned spaceship to dock with the Long-March II-F rocket at an assembly plant. The spaceship has been finished docking with the rocket recently. (Xinhua/Qin Xian'an)

China's Shenzhou-7 mission is ready for launch later this month after a final check of the spacecraft, the rocket and the ground operation system on Tuesday morning.

Scientists simulated the ignition of the rocket and the in-flight moves of the capsule to test how the system and the observation, control and communication system at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center would work together.

The rocket will be loaded with fuel after an overall quality review and approval of mission headquarters. All settings of the spacecraft and the observation, control and communication system will be frozen until the launch.

The Shenzhou-7 spacecraft is scheduled for launch sometime between Sept. 25 and 30. The craft, its Long-March II-F carrier rocket and the escape tower were vertically transferred to the launch pad on Saturday.

Cui Jijun, commander-in-chief of the ground operation team, said technicians checked the rocket and spacecraft on Monday to test the functions after the transfer. "All work well," he said.

A team of six "taikonauts" (astronauts), including three selected crew and three back-ups, have arrived at Jiuquan. One of the taikonauts will conduct a space walk during the mission.

related report
Shenzhou-7 taikonauts in final training for liftoff
Six taikonauts (astronauts) selected for China's Shenzhou-7 space mission are in final training for the launch sometime from Sept. 25 to 30, says a senior mission official.

The candidates for the three-man mission rehearse basic procedures every day and study manuals to maintain their skills, Huang Weifen, deputy chief designer of the mission's flight system, said on Tuesday.

The six taikonauts arrived at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Sunday, where they were accommodated in a guarded quarantine facility to protect them from health risks.

Staff who entered the compound had to wear masks and sterile uniforms and undergo health checks, and were prohibited from shaking hands with the taikonauts, she said.

Doctors at the compound were closely monitoring the physical and psychological states of the taikonauts before the final crew was announced, she said.

Three taikonauts will fly on the Shenzhou-7 aircraft. One of them will perform a spacewalk.

related report
Shenzhou-7 astronauts to meet press before blast-off
The crew of China's Shenzhou-7 space mission is scheduled to meet the press at 17:30 on Thursday.

In addition, the headquarters of China's third manned space mission will hold another press conference at 14:30 Thursday.

The crew, who will conduct the first Chinese space walk, is waiting for a launch window at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province.

Depending on weather, the launch is scheduled between Sept. 25 and 30.

The Shenzhou-7 spacecraft will send three Chinese astronauts who will make a historical spacewalk.

Six Chinese astronauts are ready for the mission, three pilots who will finally be aboard and three substitutes.

However neither the military or the mission's headquarters has officially released their identities, even though many local websites had reported various stories on six favorites.

According to the headquarters' release, three pilots and three substitutes said they were fully confident to successfully accomplish the mission.

After three hours of tests and safety examinations in the last rehearsal on Monday, the mission has been given the green light.

Scientists working for the mission said on Tuesday that the carrier rocket of the spacecraft was ready to be fueled, bringing the launch to the countdown status.

related report
China says spacecraft launch has no military goals
China's launch later this week of a manned spacecraft will be geared toward economic and scientific goals with no military implications, the Xinhua news agency quoted the launch center's director as saying on Tuesday.

The Shenzhou-7 spacecraft with three astronauts on board is set to lift off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province, in the northwest of China, on September 25.

"China's space program is not pursuing any military goals but serves the country's scientific and economic development," the agency quoted Cui Jijun, commander-in-chief of the ground operation team, as saying.

One of the astronauts will make a spacewalk during the mission.

China, which has recently unveiled comprehensive space exploration plans, is only one of three countries in the world capable of independently launching manned spaceflights, along with the United States and Russia.

The country plans to build its own orbital space station and create a space laboratory before 2020.

In 2003 and 2005 the Shenzhou-5 and Shenzhou-6 spacecraft carried three Chinese astronauts into space.

Source: RIA Novosti

.


Related Links
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








DRAGON SPACE
All systems go for China's first space walk
Beijing (AFP) Sept 23, 2008
China's ambitious space programme is set to take a giant leap forward this week when three astronauts blast off on a mission to undertake the country's first space walk. The Long March rocket, taller than the Statue of Liberty, is already in position at the northwestern Jiuquan launch centre to lift the Shenzhou VII capsule into orbit for China's third manned space flight late on Thursday. ... read more


DRAGON SPACE
Science By The Light Of The Moon

Chang'e-1 Sends Back Verbal Wishes

Russian Water Detector To Ride Piggyback On U.S. Lunar Orbiter

Robot Scout Will Test New Lunar Landing Techniques For Future Explorers

DRAGON SPACE
Growing Library Of Mars Spectrometer Images

Mars Polar Cap Mystery Solved

Spirit On Light Duties For Now

NASA's Phoenix Lander Might Peek Under A Rock

DRAGON SPACE
Artemis Gives Emergency Support To Jules Verne ATV

US space tourist to follow father into orbit

Shenzhou Astronauts Arrive At Launch Center

Johnson space center to reopen next week: NASA

DRAGON SPACE
Shenzhou 7's Mystery Top

China's Shenzhou-7 Mission Passes Final Joint Check

A chronology of China's space programme

Facts on China's Shenzhou spacecraft

DRAGON SPACE
Russia's Space Agency Confirms 18th ISS Expedition

The US Has No Option But To Use Russia's Soyuz Craft

Resupply spacecraft docks with International Space Station

Hurricane Ike's impact felt at International Space Station: NASA

DRAGON SPACE
Sea Launch Countdown Underway For The Galaxy 19 Mission

ArianeSpace Buys 10 Soyuz Rockets For Kourou Spaceport

Telesat Launches Nimiq 4 Broadcast Satellite

Orbital Completes Minotaur IV Launch Vehicle Pathfinder Operations

DRAGON SPACE
TNO Star Separators Help ESO With Detection Of Exoplanets

First Picture Of Likely Planet Around Sun-Like Star

VLT Instrument Hints At The Presence Of Planets In Young Gas Discs

NASA Carl Sagan Fellows To Study Extraterrestrial Worlds

DRAGON SPACE
Study Spotlights Anti-satellite And Space Debris Threats

LockMart Demos New Radiator Tech For TSAT Program

NASA Uses Commercial Microgravity Flight Services For First Time

Australian company launches 3D Internet tool




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement