Hardware reliable

　　China now has enjoyed the reliable hardware such as rockets, spaceship and retrievable cabin and will be able to realize the ideal of launching a manned spaceship.

　　The successful launch and return of the unmanned "Shenzhou III" gave the full confidence in a manned missionsintosspace in the near future. On April 2, The Shenzhou III spacecraft's returning module was carried back to Beijingl. After some initial examinations, experts said that the returning module is in good condition.

　　One of the significant differences of the Chinese program with that of the former Soviet Union and the U.S. is the use of dummies instead of live animals on unmanned test missions of Shenzhou. The body mass and metabolic rate of an animal would be smaller than a human; therefore data obtained from missions with live animals would not be entirely applicable to a human flight. The dummies that were passengers on the unmanned missions of Shenzhou were rigged with sensors, which could transmit data back to Earth in real-time. The dummy astronauts are safe and sound after travelling in the space for millions of kilometres. Data returned from the dummies on the mission indicated that their conditions were nominal. The three dummies have similar figures, blood pressures, pulses and even voices as the astronauts who are in training. During the trial, physical signals and metabolic indices were normal, proving that the environment control and life guarantee system can meet the medical requirements for manned flight.

　　"Shenzhou III"has an automatic trouble shooting system for use either prior to the launching or during the ascending flight. If a launch accident occurs the escapement tower at the top of the rocket automatically ignites and quickly separates the module for astronauts from the carrier rocket and thus permits escape from the dangerous area and for a safe return back to land.

　　To test the performance of the escapement system the 12 astronauts came to the Jiuquan Launching Site. The 12 were selected from over 2000 pilots and so they are of the highest psychological quality. During the escapement test on the ground all of them required 5 seconds exit the danger zone. The ratio of success of Chinese rockets and spacecraft ensures 97 percent safety and the other three percent made up by the sophisticated escapement system; make for one hundred percent certainty for the safety of the lives of our astronauts.

　　Spacemen: the core of manned spaceflight

　　Based on the timetable of China's moon exploration program, the first manned space flight will take off by 2005. With the plan, China's spaceflight department has selected special personnel for the space-training program, hoping that they'll become China's first generation of astronauts.

　　About twelve astronauts were in the final phase of rigorous operational and physical training at the Beijing Aerospace City to contend the assignment to the historic first manned mission in the Chinese space program.

　　The degree of toughness of the training isn't what general people could imagine.

　　These astronauts were selected from 2,000 middle ranking Air Force pilots, all about 30 years old, 1.7m tall and 50kg in weight.

　　Deputy Chief Designers of Shengzhou-III Wang Zhuang said that China independently researched and used its own material to make the spacesuit, at a cost of several tens of millions of RMB yuan. If the cost of research was factored in, the spacesuit would cost several hundred million RMB yuan(about several ten million U.S. dollars).

　　In the event Shenzhou sprang a pressure leak,astronauts would have ten minutes to don the spacesuits that would give them breathing air and immediate protection. The aerospace publication China Space News described on April 12 that it would take aastronaut three minutes to don the spacesuit under normal circumstances.

　　The astronauts' hygiene is important.

　　In terms of personal hygiene, astronauts would be able to shower in a sealed plastic sack, and change their one-off underwear everyday while living in the cabin. The cabin "just 2.8 meters long with a diameter of 2.25 meters "will be the living space of the astronauts.

　　Astronauts would sleep in sleeping bags that are mounted on the walls of the spacecraft. During working hours the Commander would work in the Descent Module while the other two astronauts would work in the Orbital Module. The Orbital Module is at the front of Shenzhou and measures 2.8m in length and 2.25m in diameter.

　　If an astronaut falls ill, the crew could press a special button to initiate an emergency return.

　　The meal menu would be quite abundant, with 20 items to choose from. Examples of space food include canned fish and meat, dehydrated rice, curry rice, and seafood such as prawns sealed in silver pouches.

　　As Chinese enjoy drinking tea, icy red tea and green tea are available as regular drinks in addition to orange juice. There are also dehydrated fruits, such as dried strawberries, apples, bananas and peaches, whose water content is removed through freeze dry.

　　China started its manned space program in the early 1990s.

　　China began to carry out its Manned Space Program in 1992. The program branches out in seven aspects of astronaut training, spaceship scientific application, manned spaceship construction, carrier rocket manufacturing, developing launching sites and landing sites, and monitoring and controlling headquarters.

　　Chinese Has Unique Advantages on Manned Spaceflight

　　On cosmonaut training and manned astronautics in the future, Chinese astronauts are of such obvious advantages as suitable stature, agile physique, and high-quality of endurance for hardships, said Su Shuangning, Commander-in-chief and Chief Designer of China's manned space navigation project.

　　The training of the Chinese astronauts includes the study of elementary theory, the training for expertise and training of some other tasks. However, running through the whole course is the physical and psychological training, such as the endurance training, the endurance for low atmospheric pressure and running short of oxygen and the simulation of the loss of gravity - the astronauts flying in a plane which takes a vertically parabolic path and this induces short-term weightlessness.

　　The names of the first from among the first batch of 12 astronauts to gosintosthe space will be announced prior to the launch of "Shenzhou V"

　　Backgound

　　World history of Spaceflight

　　1957

　　4 October--Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1

　　3 November--Launch of Sputnik 2, carrying a dog named Laika.

　　5 December--Vanguard disaster.

　　1958

　　31 January--Launch of Explorer 1.

　　26 March--Launch of Explorer 3.

　　1 May--US National Academy receives from James Van Allen his report on the discovery of the radiation belt.

　　1958

　　Eugene Parker proposes the existence of a "Solar wind."

　　1958-9

　　"Project Orion"to design nuclear-powered spaceships.

　　1959

　　2 January--Luna 1 launched by Soviet Union, comes within 6000 km of Moon; Luna 2(September)observes first signs of "Solar wind" Luna 3(October)takes picture of Moon's far side.

　　1961

　　12 April--Yuri Gagarin becomes first human to orbit Earth.

　　5 May--Allan Shepard becomes first American in space, completes 15-minute suborbital hop.

　　25 May--US president J.F. Kennedy announces project to land human on Moon within decade.

　　1962

　　20 February--John Glenn becames first American in orbit.

　　14 December--Mariner 2(launched August 27)passes by planet Venus.

　　1965

　　HARP cannon operated on Barbados.

　　23 March--First Gemini flight, 2 US astronauts together.

　　14 July--Mariner 4 passes above Mars, returns first pictures.

　　1968

　　21-7 December, Apollo 8 with three astronauts loops around the Moon, returns to Earth.

　　1968

　　Pulsars discovered by Anthony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell, very regularly pulsating radio stars identified as neutron star remnants of supernovas.

　　1969

　　20 July--Apollo 11 astronauts land on the Moon.

　　1970

　　11 February--First launch of a Japanese spacecraft, by Lambda 4S rocket.

　　11-17 April--Apollo 13 astronauts narrowly escape failed spacecraft.

　　24 April--First launch of a Chinese satellite, by a Long March 1 rocket.

　　17 November--Soviet Russia lands remotely controlled vehicle.(Lunokhod)on the surface of the Moon.

　　1971

　　2 December--Soviet Mars 3 entered orbit around Mars, landed capsule which transmitted for 20 seconds.

　　1973

　　2 March(5 April)--Pioneer 10(11)launched towards Jupiter, arrive 4 December 1973(5 December 1974; Saturn, 1 September 1979).

　　1973

　　14 May--Skylab space station launched. Astronauts follow later, observe "coronal holes."

　　1974

　　29 March--Mariner 10(launched 3 November 1973)flies past the planet Mercury.

　　1975

　　8 June--Soviet Venera 9 lands on Venus, returns pictures

　　11 June, Venera 11 also lands, takes pictures.

　　1976

　　20 July--Viking 1 soft-lands on Mars, takes pictures, searches for life.

　　1977

　　5 September(August 20)--Voyager 1(2)launched towards Jupiter. arriving 5 March(9 July)1979, continuing to encounter Saturn 12 November 1980(26 August 1981). Voyager 2 continued to Uranus(25 January 1985)and Neptune(25 August 1989).

　　1977

　　ISEE 3 placed at L1

　　1979

　　24 December--First flight of Europe's Ariane rocket.

　　1981

　　12 April--First flight of the Space Shuttle.

　　1986

　　6 March--Russia's Vega 1 flies past Comet Halley, after dropping French balloon experiment on Venus.

　　14 March--Europe's Giotto flies past Comet Halley.

　　1988

　　15 November--Soviet space shuttle "Buran"conducts its first(unmanned)flight.