China plans manned space launch this month

mlurp · #1 (**permalink**) 06-09-2012, 11:48 AM

I believe this is China's first step toward a moon base or mining base in the future. And Russia will not be to far behind as the race for Helium 3 is about to start... There are two small pictures at the site.

Quote:

.Report: China plans manned space launch this month

Associated Press – 2 hrs 38 mins ago. 9 June 2012 ...............

BEIJING (AP) — China will launch three astronauts this month to dock with an orbiting experimental module, and the crew might include its first female space traveler, a government news agency said Saturday.

A rocket carrying the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft was moved to a launch pad in China's desert northwest on Saturday for the mid-June flight, the Xinhua News Agency said, citing an space program spokesman.

The three-member crew will dock with and live in the Tiangong 1 orbital module launched last year, Xinhua said. The government has not said how long the mission will last.

Xinhua cited Niu Hongguang, deputy commander in chief of the manned space program, as saying the crew "might include female astronauts."

The government said in 2010 that two female air force pilots had joined the astronaut program but has disclosed no other details.

China's space program has made steady progress since a 2003 launch that made it only the third nation to put a man in space on its own. Two more manned missions have followed, one including a space walk.

China completed its first space rendezvous in November when the unmanned Shenzhou 8 docked with the Tiangong 1 by remote control. Tiangong 1 was launched on Sept. 29.

Over the next few days, scientists will test the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, the Long March 2F rocket and ground systems, Xinhua said, citing the spokesman.

During the flight, one crew member will remain aboard the Shenzhou 9 "as a precautionary measure in case of emergency" while the others enter Tiangong 1, Xinhua said.

China has scheduled two space docking missions for this year and plans to complete a manned space station around 2020 to replace Tiangong 1. At about 60 tons, the Chinese station will be considerably smaller than the 16-nation International Space Station.

Beijing launched its independent space station program after being turned away from the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. objections. Washington is wary of the Chinese program's military links and of sharing technology with an economic and political rival.

Report: China plans manned space launch this month - Yahoo! News

397 comments.

faithful_servant · #2 (**permalink**) 06-09-2012, 02:50 PM

Which only puts them about 50 years behind us and the Russians and just keeping up with private US corps.

mlurp · #3 (**permalink**) 06-09-2012, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faithful_servant

Which only puts them about 50 years behind us and the Russians and just keeping up with private US corps.

Well that might not matter with our debt and the plans NASA has already. The U.S., B-4 the suttles flights already knew about the Helium 3 on the moons surface but failed to bother changing their sapce plans allowing for 2015 to 2020 to start plans on it's recovery.

Thats why we hear nothing about it. But because we gave away near half of our space rocks to other countries B-4 we knew about it. Some of these countries found out on their own.

And thats why these other countries have plans and are getting ready now!

We kind of blew the pooch..

mlurp · #4 (**permalink**) 06-15-2012, 02:52 PM

More info on the first post. Plus the item below this news report. And it is now proof of what I have been saying for a while about a luner present... China is excelling in many different areas.

Quote:

.China to send its first woman into space on Saturday

By Claire Cozens | AFP – 19 hrs ago. Posted 15 June 2012 .................

China has said it will send its first female astronaut into space on Saturday, when the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft blasts off from the Gobi desert for the country's first ever manned space docking.

Liu Yang, a 33-year-old major in the People's Liberation Army who entered the astronaut training programme just two years ago, will take part in China's fourth manned space launch, a spokeswoman for the country's space progamme said.

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The mission to dock with the Tiangong-1 module currently orbiting Earth is the latest step in a plan aimed at giving the country a permanent space station in which a crew can live independently for several months by 2020.

China sent its first person into space in 2003 and has since conducted several manned missions, the latest in 2008, but has never yet included a woman.

China was the third country to send humans into space after Russia and America, and it is now also looking into sending astronauts to the moon, although nothing has been set in stone.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A white paper released last December outlining China's ambitious space programme said the country "will conduct studies on the preliminary plan for a human lunar landing".

No one has been back to the moon since the last US Apollo landing in December 1972.

While we looked for rocks China and the others to follow will be looking at the dust and the best locations of it's deposits. Any one want to place a bet with me?

................ MUCH HAS BEEN SKIPPED AS I PRESENTED IT THIS WAY ...............

China to send its first woman into space on Saturday - Yahoo! News

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Quote:

Asia News Headlines

Mixed fortunes for China's women AFP - 45 mins ago
Two of China's best women's players tumbled out of the Indonesia Open Superseries quarter-finals on Friday, boosting the hopes of the rest of the field with the London … More »

China's Hu visits Denmark's Little Mermaid AFP - 3 hrs ago
China's Hu Jintao and his wife on Friday visited the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen as part of the first ever state visit to Denmark by a Chinese president. More »

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A manned Chinese submersible set a new record for the country's deepest sea dive Friday, over 6,000 metres, showing Beijing's technological ambitions as it also readies … More »

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Asia News Headlines - Yahoo! News

mlurp · #5 (**permalink**) 06-18-2012, 02:54 PM

Well by remote they did dock today... What bothers me is I watch a lot of the Universe shows on TV. Just twice very late either around midnight or early in the morning I have seen just 2 about moon bases and the Helium3 which is just on the top 5" of the surface.

That Russia, China, japan & Iran is going to go after as we gave away a lot of the space rocks which had helium3 on them. So it isn't any deep secret.

Yet our plans always involve Mars and a moon around I think Neptune, Oh yes there are other plans but NASA never speaks about 2 things. Helium3 & UFO's.

When about 5 kilograms could supply NY with a years worth of power. A gram could fuel a clean auto for a year. My best guess!

And this is the firsts steps for China to follow thru on their plan on a moon base around 2020+ as the same thing with Russia. So are we even in this race to the moon bases? Cause we need to lower our debt by a heck of a lot to even consider this.

Quote:

.Chinese spacecraft docks with orbiting module

Associated Press – 2 hrs 50 mins ago. 18 June 2012 ............

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese spacecraft carrying three astronauts docked with an orbiting module Monday, another first for the country as it strives to match American and Russian exploits in space.

The Shenzhou 9 capsule completed the maneuver with the Tiangong 1 module shortly after 2 p.m. (0600 GMT), 343 kilometers (213 miles) above Earth. The docking was shown live on national television.

Astronauts will live and work in the module for several days as part of preparations for manning a permanent space station. The crew includes 33-year-old Liu Yang, an air force pilot and China's first female space traveler.

The docking was a first for Chinese manned spaceflight. In November 2011, the unmanned Shenzhou 8 successfully docked twice with Tiangong 1 by remote control.

Monday's docking also was completed by remote control from a ground base in China. A manual docking, to be carried out by one of the crew members, is scheduled for later in the mission.

................................................ CONTINUED .............................................

Chinese spacecraft docks with orbiting module - Yahoo! News

mlurp · #6 (**permalink**) 08-27-2012, 02:51 PM

Now add this to what we were talking about:

I could not let this news pass. As i had perdicted several other countries would make the try at landing on the moon for more than media hype. The moon has a lot of Helium3 in it's dust. Enough to power large countries if not the world.

But I fear this one thing, as our moon moves away from our planet at about 5" or less each year and the planets weather is taking it's toll on many countries, Could this be part of the Climate Problem?

And mining this layer near 3 "to 6" will it cause the moon to move away faster?

Quote:

.How China may be the next to land on the moon

By Sebastien Blanc | AFP – 8 hrs ago. 27 August 2012 .............

Neil Armstrong's 1969 lunar landing marked a pinnacle of US technological achievement, defining what many saw as the American century, but the next person to set foot on the moon will likely be Chinese.

As the United States has scaled back its manned space programme to cut costs -- a move strongly criticised by Armstrong, who died on Saturday -- Asian nations have aggressively expanded into space exploration.

China, Japan and India all have their own space programmes. New Delhi, which envisages its first manned mission in 2016, recently unveiled ambitious plans to launch a space probe that would orbit Mars.

Japan participates in the International Space Station programme and launched its first lunar probe in 2007. It is planning a follow-up that it hopes will find "organic substances or minerals containing water" on an asteroid.

But experts say that China, which as recently as the 1980s was focused solely on developing satellites, is the closest to landing an astronaut on the moon.

Beijing launched its manned space programme in 1999 and has developed rapidly since, sending its first astronaut into space in 2003 and completing a space walk in 2008.

This year, it conducted its first manned space docking -- the latest step towards setting up a space station -- during a mission that included its first woman in space.

In its last white paper on space, China said it was working towards landing a man on the moon -- a feat so far only achieved by the United States, most recently in 1972 -- although it did not give a time frame.

It will attempt to land an exploratory craft on the moon for the first time in the second half of 2013 and transmit back a survey of the lunar surface.

"Nobody knows where the next astronauts on the moon will come from. But I expect there is a good chance that they will be Chinese," said Morris Jones, an Australian space expert.

"China's space programme is moving steadily forward. If they continue at this pace, they will develop the capability to reach the moon around 2030."

China's space programme remains far behind that of the United States -- as evidenced by the fact that the recent manual space docking trumpeted by Beijing was mastered by the United States in the 1960s.

US President Barack Obama said in 2010 he would drop the costly Constellation space programme, killing off future moon exploration.

But the United States is developing a new rocket, and this month landed a rover the size of a car on Mars for a two-year mission to explore the Red Planet for signs it could support life.

Beijing has spent about 39 billion yuan ($6.1 billion) on its manned space programme since it began 20 years ago, state media have said.

It sees the programme as a symbol of its rising global stature, growing technical expertise, and the Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.

Experts, however, say national pride is just one of the motivating factors in China's ambitious space programme.

"Trips to the moon have always involved prestige, but there is also science," said Jones. "A new trend could involve mining the moon for nuclear fuel. China has made no secret of their interest in this possibility."

How China may be the next to land on the moon - Yahoo! News

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