China's next manned space launch will carry three astronauts
into orbit for a week, a newspaper reported Tuesday, citing a space
program official.
Plans call for the next launch within two years, the Chengdu
Evening Post said, citing Xu Dazhe, deputy general manager of
the China Aerospace Technology Group.
China's first manned space launch on October 15 carried
astronaut Yang Liwei's Shenzhou V capsule into orbit for a 14-orbit
flight that lasted 21 1/2 hours.
Following Yang's return, space officials said the next Shenzhou
launch would take place within two years, but they didn't give a
date or say how many astronauts it would carry.
The space officials said China eventually wants to send up a
permanently manned space station, suggesting they already are at
work on supporting space crews for long periods.
In the China News Service report on Saturday, the space
program's deputy chief designer was cited as saying the rocket that
boosted Yang into orbit already is strong enough to carry up to
three astronauts.
Tens of thousands of young Chinese professionals working for
China's manned space project are becoming experienced and
increasingly important for the country's future in the space
sector, senior space experts said.
Qi Faren, 70, chief designer of China's spacecraft, said a group
of well-educated young professionals with good managerial skills
were trained during the development of the vessel, which is more
valuable than the successful manned space mission itself.?
China's first astronaut returned to the Earth on October 16
after orbiting the planet 14 times in 21 1/2 hours, making China
the third country capable of independently putting a person into
space.
Space officials and experts say thousands of young professionals
tempered in the 11-year-old project are an important human resource
for China's future space endeavors.
About 80 percent of the engineers and technicians working for
the space project are under 40, with some even under 30.
Liu Feng, 27, is the commander of the error inspection system
for the carrier rocket while Qin Wenbo, vice-chief designer of the
spacecraft system, is only 37 years old.
The stars include rocket expert Zhang Qingwei, 42, deputy chief
commander of the space project; Yuan Jiajun, 41, chief commander of
the spacecraft system and president of the China Academy of Space
Technology; and rocket expert Wu Yansheng, 39, president of the China Academy of Launch
Vehicle Technology.
At the age of 40, Zhang Qingwei was appointed in 2001 general
manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, which has
103,000 employees, and develops the launch vehicle and
spacecraft.
(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2003)