 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
 by Staff Writers Beijing (AFP) May 05, 2020
China on Tuesday successfully launched a new rocket and prototype spacecraft, state media said, in a major test of the country's ambitions to operate a permanent space station and send astronauts to the Moon. The Long March 5B rocket took off from the Wenchang launch site in the southern island of Hainan and eight minutes later an unmanned prototype spaceship successfully separated and entered its planned orbit, according to the Xinhua news agency. A test version of a cargo return capsule also successfully separated from the rocket, Xinhua added. The spaceship will one day transport astronauts to a space station that China plans to complete by 2022 -- and eventually to the Moon. It will have capacity for a crew of six. The mission will test its "key technologies", including the control of its re-entry into the atmosphere, its heat shielding and recovery technology, Yang Qing of the China Academy of Space Technology and designer of the spaceship was quoted as saying by Xinhua in March. The United States is so far the only country to have successfully sent humans to the Moon. But Beijing has made huge strides in its effort to catch up, sending astronauts into space, satellites into orbit and a rover to the far side of the Moon.
- 849 tonnes - "The new spaceship will give China an advantage in the area of human spaceflight over Japan and Europe," said Chen Lan, an independent analyst at GoTaikonauts.com, which specialises in China's space programme. The US no longer has its own spaceship since retiring the space shuttle in 2011 and relies on Russia to send astronauts to the International Space Station. Beijing has launched several spacecraft since 1999 and the previous vessel, the Shenzhou, was modelled after Russia's Soyuz. "It depends how ambitious the Chinese space programme is at the moment but missions beyond the Moon will be possible," said Carter Palmer, space systems analyst with US-based Forecast International consultancy.
- Moon and beyond - The orbiting lab will have three modules, with living and working quarters and two annexes for scientific experiments. China plans to send an astronaut to the Moon in about a decade and then build a base there. It became the first nation to land on the far side of the Moon in January 2019, deploying a lunar rover that has driven some 450 metres so far. The next big mission for Beijing is to land a probe on Mars, with liftoff expected this year. "China has caught up with the US in some space areas like earth observation and navigation," Chen said. "But there are still large gaps between China and US in deep space exploration and human space flight," he said, adding the US was the "leading space power today, yesterday and in the near future."
China recollects first satellite stories after entering space for 50 years Beijing (XNA) Apr 28, 2020 The Space Day of China, which falls on April 24, is more special this year, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the successful launch of Dongfanghong-1, the country's first man-made satellite. It listed China as the fifth country in the world to develop and launch a man-made satellite on its own, and recorded the country's first step in exploring the vast space. Affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic, China's space institutes and science popularization organizations held online forums an ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news 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. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. 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. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
