The manned space flight will dock with the Tiangong 1 space station module, pictured here being launched
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China has announced it will carry out a manned space flight at some point in the middle of June.
A rocket carrying the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft has been moved to a launch pad in the north-west of the country.
According to state news agency Xinhua, it will carry three astronauts - possibly including a woman - to the Taingong 1 space station module.
This will be China's fourth manned space flight and its first since 2008.
It became only the third country to independently send a man into space in 2003.
Stellar plans
Last year, China completed a complicated space docking manoeuvre when an unmanned craft docked with the Taingong 1, or "Heavenly Body", by remote control.
The astronauts onboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft will also dock with the Taingong 1 - an experimental module currently orbiting Earth - and carry out scientific experiments on board.
Xinhua reported that Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of China's manned space programme, said the crew "might include female astronauts".
The mission is part of China's programme to develop a full orbiting space station.
Beijing is planning to complete the 60-tonne manned space station by 2020.
China was previously turned away from the International Space Station, a much bigger project run by 16 nations, reportedly after objections from the United States.
Adding on with the successful flight of the Dragon spacecraft, I will say this is turning out to be a good year for space travel.
Life sucks and is probably meaningless, but that doesn't mean there's no reason to be good.
Not sure what the original reason is (Though I imagine that the U.S. is reluctant to give China access to certain technologies necessary for ISS partnership), but currently a law sponsored by my congressman forbids any bilateral cooperation between NASA and China.
The whole point of the ISS is supposed to be R&D, and meanwhile China is stealing US technology, not to mention everyone elses, rampantly. China also would be gaining a lot for a little unless they pony up funding for new ISS modules. Cooperation doesn't make any sense before you consider all the other political baggage it would bring,
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
eion wrote:Not sure what the original reason is (Though I imagine that the U.S. is reluctant to give China access to certain technologies necessary for ISS partnership), but currently a law sponsored by my congressman forbids any bilateral cooperation between NASA and China.
China refused to participate in the ISS without full disclosure of US rocketry tech.
Stuart: The only problem is, I'm losing track of which universe I'm in.
You kinda look like Jesus. With a lightsaber.- Peregrin Toker
would be interesting to know what chinese people think of this.
I personally doubt any of the stuff china is doing in space will have any use (other than the usual R&D byproducts) once its "penis lenght" has been established.
I'm nobody. Nobody at all. But the secrets of the universe don't mind. They reveal themselves to nobodies who care. -- Stereotypical spacecraft are pressurized. Less realistic spacecraft are pressurized to hold breathing atmosphere. Realistic spacecraft are pressurized because they are flying propellant tanks. -Isaac Kuo -- Good art has function as well as form. I hesitate to spend more than $50 on decorations of any kind unless they can be used to pummel an intruder into submission. -Sriad
well, a man on the moon would put them n the top three, but a lunar colony or mars would be needed to truly be able to wave the space wang.
"Aid, trade, green technology and peace." - Hans Rosling.
"Welcome to SDN, where we can't see the forest because walking into trees repeatedly feels good, bro." - Mr Coffee
Only if they're the first ones to get there. Won't get too many bragging rights of they get to the moon and there's already and American, European, or Russian colony sitting there.
And this is why you don't watch anything produced by Ronald D. Moore after he had his brain surgically removed and replaced with a bag of elephant semen.-Gramzamber, on why Caprica sucks
Of those players, only America has the combination of cash and pride to chase that at the moment.
China announcing it was pursuing it might get the USA riled up enough to do it themselves, but i doubt it.
"Aid, trade, green technology and peace." - Hans Rosling.
"Welcome to SDN, where we can't see the forest because walking into trees repeatedly feels good, bro." - Mr Coffee
Darksider wrote:Only if they're the first ones to get there. Won't get too many bragging rights of they get to the moon and there's already and American, European, or Russian colony sitting there.
hehe, yeah, like THAT's going to happen (ie not while usa is slashing it's nasa budget). it's a good time for China to make the leap, while USA, Europe and Russia all in financial gloom.
Why usa is so bothered by china having access to their tech is bit of a chest beating exercise, because the chinese will either steal or copy it anyway. (not saying the chinese are bad, but they have a record for bending the rules when it suits them)
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If you believe in Telekinesis, raise my hand.
all i'm saying is that a permanent moon colony is so far off that we really don't know who's going to do it. Ideally it'd be some kind of multinational effort like the ISS.
And this is why you don't watch anything produced by Ronald D. Moore after he had his brain surgically removed and replaced with a bag of elephant semen.-Gramzamber, on why Caprica sucks
Hopefully no stupid race mentallity will ever be allowed back into space endavours. Because you know what happens and the end of a race? You stop. That's exactly what happened last time. If we want long term success, we have to have long-sighted, sustainable investment.
This is pre-WWII. You can sort of tell from the sketch style, from thee way it refers to Japan (Japan in the 1950s was still rebuilding from WWII), the spelling of Tokyo, lots of details. Nothing obvious... except that the upper right hand corner of the page reads "November 1931." --- Simon_Jester
Skgoa wrote:Hopefully no stupid race mentallity will ever be allowed back into space endavours. Because you know what happens and the end of a race? You stop. That's exactly what happened last time. If we want long term success, we have to have long-sighted, sustainable investment.
Tell that to the Russians who kept going and still have flights?
People like and need goals, and attainable ones that can't be put off, "X in Y years" worked for the moon landings, we just need to keep setting those kinds of goals, like Mars Direct, easily attainable in under a decade to get a sustainable base on Mars.
This is pre-WWII. You can sort of tell from the sketch style, from thee way it refers to Japan (Japan in the 1950s was still rebuilding from WWII), the spelling of Tokyo, lots of details. Nothing obvious... except that the upper right hand corner of the page reads "November 1931." --- Simon_Jester
The only reason the Russians are still in space is because they make some money off it. They do commercial satelite launches and were paid considerably for their involvment in the ISS project. The actual exoloration part is a shadow of itself. Russia has not sent a single succesful mission beyond Earth orbit since soviets collapsed. National pride only goes so far even for a nation as famous for its love of science as the Russians.
The last thing we need is another flag and foot print mission.
I have to tell you something everything I wrote above is a lie.
We really need some form of cooperative program that focuses all the worlds resources towards space exploration, sort of an international space agency or something, but that's probably unfeasible in the current political climate.
And this is why you don't watch anything produced by Ronald D. Moore after he had his brain surgically removed and replaced with a bag of elephant semen.-Gramzamber, on why Caprica sucks
Darksider wrote:We really need some form of cooperative program that focuses all the worlds resources towards space exploration, sort of an international space agency or something, but that's probably unfeasible in the current political climate.
All the world's resources? €100 billion per year would be nice but more than that would be wasted.
This is pre-WWII. You can sort of tell from the sketch style, from thee way it refers to Japan (Japan in the 1950s was still rebuilding from WWII), the spelling of Tokyo, lots of details. Nothing obvious... except that the upper right hand corner of the page reads "November 1931." --- Simon_Jester
Darksider wrote:We really need some form of cooperative program that focuses all the worlds resources towards space exploration, sort of an international space agency or something, but that's probably unfeasible in the current political climate.
All the world's resources? €100 billion per year would be nice but more than that would be wasted.
Seeing actual cost estimations for building Space Fountain/Elevator/Loop/Thread/Whatever, that is, infrastructure we need to even consider real exploration of space, are about 50-250 billion €, nope, it wouldn't be wasted. It could be wasted on toy rockets we use today, actual global investment into something sensible would be about that much.
Of course, a few years after this investment space program would be cheap as peanuts compared to what we have now, but we need to make it first.
This is pre-WWII. You can sort of tell from the sketch style, from thee way it refers to Japan (Japan in the 1950s was still rebuilding from WWII), the spelling of Tokyo, lots of details. Nothing obvious... except that the upper right hand corner of the page reads "November 1931." --- Simon_Jester
100 billion per year on space would get us colonies on the Moon and Mars, manned missions to Venus, asteroid mining and more within a couple decades. It could pay for another Apollo in one year, for fuck's sake
And that's what...1/6000th of world GDP?
Space exploration is actually pretty cheap already.
JULY 20TH 1969 - The day the entire world was looking up
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. - NEIL ARMSTRONG, MISSION COMMANDER, APOLLO 11
Signature dedicated to the greatest achievement of mankind.
MILDLY DERANGED PHYSICIST does not mind BREAKING the SOUND BARRIER, because it is INSURED. - Simon_Jester considering the problems of hypersonic flight for Team L.A.M.E.
Yeah, that was my point. It's especially cheap when you keep in mind that you don't actually spend that much on physical objects. Most of the generation of added value is done long before the first rocket launches. And that tech/scientific knowledge is highly profitable and as lead to immense improvements in our quality of live.
This is pre-WWII. You can sort of tell from the sketch style, from thee way it refers to Japan (Japan in the 1950s was still rebuilding from WWII), the spelling of Tokyo, lots of details. Nothing obvious... except that the upper right hand corner of the page reads "November 1931." --- Simon_Jester
Stofsk wrote:The last line, that China was turned away from the ISS, is an interesting one and not something I knew. What's the story there?
Anyway good on China.
Actually, by the time China could launch man rated vehicles and participate in the ISS in any meaningful way (the mid 2000s), the ISS design was long finalized and good luck in trying to renegotiate the time share agreements with the existing partner nations/EU.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
(ie not while usa is slashing it's nasa budget). it's a good time for China to make the leap, while USA, Europe and Russia all in financial gloom.
