China's astronauts prepare for a new era of exploration

    By Zhao Lei | China Daily | Updated: 2018-01-22 07:45
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    The nation is planning its most ambitious project yet; a manned facility that will act as a base for experiments and further exploration, as Zhao Lei reports.

    In most suburbs of Beijing, the word "skyrocket" is usually used to describe the soaring price of property that has resulted from China's rapid urbanization and the thriving real estate market.

    However, for 16 people in an inconspicuous compound on the northwestern outskirts of the city the adjective is almost always used literally.

    They are the only people in a population of 1.3 billion who are active, qualified astronauts. At present, they are training for one of the most spectacular endeavors of the coming decade: building and operating China's first space station. Construction will begin in 2020, and the facility, which will be designed to last at least 10 years, will come into service two years later. Each group of astronauts will occupy it for three to six months at a time.

    "Missions to the space station will last much longer than previous assignments. The station's systems will be more advanced and sophisticated than those on the Shenzhou series of spacecraft and the Tiangong space laboratories, so the astronauts will require far greater knowledge, ability and skill," said Fei Junlong, who was sent into space aboard Shenzhou VI in 2005.

    "We astronauts must continue to improve our abilities and learn how to operate and maintain the equipment that will be used on the space station," he told reporters during an open house held at the Astronaut Center of China in northwestern Beijing to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Group.

    Nie Haisheng, Fei's partner on the Shenzhou VI mission, explained that China's astronauts now have a wider range of training methods designed to help them become familiar with the advanced equipment that will be used on the space station.

    According to the plan of action, a Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket, which is currently under development, will put the station's core module into orbit in 2020. That will be followed by at least four manned missions to carry astronauts into space to assemble the station. In common with previous space missions, the government has not released any figures related to the cost of the project.

    If the United States-led International Space Station is retired as planned in 2024, the new, as yet unnamed, Chinese facility will become the only permanent space station.

    Although China has trained 21 astronauts over two generations, only 11 of them have taken part in the nation's six manned space missions. The third batch of trainees will be chosen this year.

    Candidates for the space station mission will be chosen according to their performance in training and through expert assessment, so no one yet knows who will be the first to board the station.

    "We are lucky to be in this great 'New Era'. We must race against time to prepare for the upcoming space station mission," said Liu Boming, who took part in the Shenzhou VII mission in 2008.

    A source of pride

    In 1992, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China approved a road map for the country's manned space program drawn up by a number of eminent scientists.

    Three years later, the Central Military Commission decided that the astronauts should be chosen from veteran pilots in the PLA Air Force who had at least 600 flight hours in fighter jets or attack aircraft.

    1 2 3 4 Next   >>|
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    中文字幕欧美日韩| 国产精品无码午夜福利| 日本乱中文字幕系列| 日本无码小泬粉嫩精品图| 欧美日韩中文国产一区发布| 无码AV天堂一区二区三区| 中文精品久久久久人妻| 亚洲日本va中文字幕久久| 日韩AV无码精品人妻系列| 精品人妻无码区在线视频| 亚洲av中文无码乱人伦在线播放 | 熟妇人妻久久中文字幕| 潮喷失禁大喷水aⅴ无码| 亚洲AV无码专区亚洲AV伊甸园| 欧美一级一区二区中文字幕| 亚洲中文字幕无码专区| 国精无码欧精品亚洲一区| 亚洲国产精品无码久久SM| 中文字幕AV中文字无码亚| 亚洲精品97久久中文字幕无码| 无码AV中文字幕久久专区| 中文字幕无码高清晰| 精品无码人妻一区二区三区不卡| 亚洲AV无码成人网站久久精品大 | 中文字幕在线观看一区二区| 2022中文字字幕久亚洲| 日韩亚洲欧美中文高清| 亚洲欧美日韩、中文字幕不卡| 国产成人一区二区三中文 | 亚洲精品无码久久久久AV麻豆| 911国产免费无码专区| 精品少妇人妻av无码久久| 国产激情无码一区二区| 国产成人AV片无码免费| 国产午夜片无码区在线播放| 国产热の有码热の无码视频| 日韩人妻无码一区二区三区99| 无码内射中文字幕岛国片| 精品人妻系列无码天堂| 狠狠躁狠狠爱免费视频无码| 天天看高清无码一区二区三区|