China launches manned space mission

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news....sc=1501

I think according to the article it was launched an hour ago.

For those of us who don't want to read the long article , it goes on to say that it carries one person, Yang Liwei, and he "should" make 14 orbits.

3rd nation to do so. who says space exploration is not a national event?

i heard that military was so afarind of failure that they insisted on videotaped broadcasting.

Quote[/b] ] heard that military was so afarind of failure that they insisted on videotaped broadcasting.

I heard that too on the wireless! Thats not much of a confidence booster if your the guy in the hot seat! Lets hope he survives to tell the tale. He'll be a hero to Billions in his own country. Does anyone else smell another cold war brewing. I've been feeling it for years.

well, let's see...if new cold war comes i'll have to cut my chinese take outs.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/10/14/china.launch/index.html

Quote[/b] ](CNN) -- China's first astronaut Yang Liwei is in orbit following a successful launch Wednesday morning from the Jiuquan launch site in the western Gobi Desert, state media reports.

Speaking from space, the 38-year-old astronaut reported back to mission controllers that he "feels good" and said the spacecraft is operating normally, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Yang, a former air force pilot, is expected to make 14 orbits in the Shenzhou V spacecraft before returning to Earth at a landing site in Inner Mongolia.

Quoted by Chinese media just before he blasted off into space, Yang said he would "gain honor for the People's Liberation Army and for the Chinese nation."

"I will not disappoint the motherland," he was quoted as saying. "I will complete each movement with total concentration."

can you guess which one is for propaganda?

but he is not the first chinese astronaut.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/09/30/china.wanhu/index.html

I'm guessing top right is propoganda. It has that specific propagandaish look to it that only the communists know best.

Quote[/b] ]When the smoke eventually cleared, Wan and his chair were nowhere to be seen.

The Ming Dynasty Astronaut, ROFLAO.

C'mon, he was incinerated on the launch pad. Oh well, no guts, no glory. As good as the idea was, it seemed that without Newton, he was a dead man.

I'm guessing top right is propoganda. It has that specific propagandaish look to it that only the communists know best.

Quote[/b] ]When the smoke eventually cleared, Wan and his chair were nowhere to be seen.

The Ming Dynasty Astronaut, ROFLAO.

C'mon, he was incinerated on the launch pad. Oh well, no guts, no glory. As good as the idea was, it seemed that without Newton, he was a dead man.

Its the thought that counts

funny thing is 'Ming' was combination of two words; 'sun' and 'moon'

the first chinese character on the top left is 'ming'. left part is 'sun'

er.................can i think these posts as a "Congratulations"

(cause i dont think so )

does that mean il get my chinese takeaway delivered a bit quicker now always took ages to get it

this is great , a step forward for china

lets hope the taikonaut his first words were abit more dignified then what armstrong REALLY said (dont click if you cant stand swearing)

hehe. Nice spoof job onion.

You know, one thing I don't get after looking through history, China had been well known for being an advanced civilization. Ever since Imperialism fell, and especially since the communist gaining power in China at 1949, China through the years actually fell into reverse regarding societial progress.  Progressive reforms and changes in certain parts of the govt have significantly reduced the problem but hasn't resolved the core issues yet.

Sending a manned spacecraft mission up proves nothing to the Chinese except that they are 3 or 4 decades late doing what the U.S. and former USSR were racing to do.  Unless you are showing this to some poorly educated or uneducated farmer in rural China, the mainstay attitude about the manned mission would be about as much pride in their govt. as the Californians put in Gray Davis to do his job as the Govenor of California.  Thus the recall and the wonderful circus with Mr. Terminator making really difficult promises that probably won't be kept or can't be achieved.

If I was a decently educated Chinese citizen, when I would hear about this, I would be VERY pissed.  It took the Chinese 3 to 4 damn decades later to do it, AND the govt. also being notiorious for stealing and copying designs and techniques because their own society doesn't effectively support creative and rewarding entreupunership.

Anyways, I think this will become one very expensive and badly done PR/Propoganda stunt.  The Chinese will forget about it in two months and start back to paying other companies or countries for its designs or using esponaige to steal military technology from others like the U.S. and some limited esponiage in Russia.

You think with a billion or so people, they could be a little more innovative and inventive.

the more people there are the more liekly chance that there will be noises.

afaik, the capsule is made mostly of Soyuz tech.

I was kinda hoping for bigger news coverage on this event. It was actually kinda dull ... maybe people are too bored with space flights these days, or China was a tad bit late ;)

I wish I had lived during the time of Sputnik, Juri Gagarin and the flights to moon

I'll know what to think when it starts raining chinamen.

I was kinda hoping for bigger news coverage on this event. It was actually kinda dull ... maybe people are too bored with space flights these days, or China was a tad bit late ;)

I wish I had lived during the time of Sputnik, Juri Gagarin and the flights to moon

China plans on going to the moon fairly soon. WHen THAT happens I guarantee the whole world will want to watch. IT would be great they did it.

http://reuters.com/newsArt....3622876

the flight is a success.

http://reuters.com/newsArt....3623035

and some interesting things.

Quote[/b] ]China's first astronaut Yang Liwei © is applauded by military officials after the landing of spacecraft Shenzhou V, on the Inner Mongolian grasslands of northern China, October 16, 2003. China's first man in space returned safely to Earth on Thursday, capping the country's bid to join the former Soviet Union and the United States in the exclusive club of nations that have conquered space. CHINA OUT, NO ARCHIVES, NO SALES REUTERS/Xinhua

A very brave man. Would you dare to go to space in a vehicle that has "Made in China" printed on it? j/k

It's cool. As Badgerboy said - too bad that it got so little publicity.

A very brave man. Would you dare to go to space in a vehicle that has "Made in China" printed on it?   j/k

It's cool. As Badgerboy said - too bad that it got so little publicity.

lol that was a good one. well I IMHO the important is not when they sent some1 (wheter 40 years after the us and ussr) but the important thing is that they are the 3rd nation to put a man in space with "their" (modified soyuz?) own technology. that is quite the achievement methinks

If I was a decently educated Chinese citizen, when I would hear about this, I would be VERY pissed. It took the Chinese 3 to 4 damn decades later to do it, AND the govt. also being notiorious for stealing and copying designs and techniques because their own society doesn't effectively support creative and rewarding entreupunership.

Well, what about the U.S. or Russia, using german war technology for their space programs?

"I come back from outer space and all I got was this silly white scarf".

"I come back from outer space and all I got was this silly white scarf".

er...............thats the traditional of the people living there, for blessing.................

I was kinda hoping for bigger news coverage on this event. It was actually kinda dull ... maybe people are too bored with space flights these days, or China was a tad bit late ;)

i agree. in fact, i used this event on an essay i wrote a few weeks ago about people being unaware of the news. it's not that China's sending an astronaut into space is not a significant achievement. far from it, in fact. it's just that the world has become so accustomed to seeing american and russian astronauts go into space on a regular basis that they do not think much of china doing the same.

I still say the PRC could have done this 5 to 10 years ago if their country really had a true progressive attitude in its government towards such ventures instead of tasks that are completely manipulated on what can be and instead of doing what they really desire to do (In essence, entrepureship).

Besides the reason of the former USSR's financial problems, the main problem with the Communist ideal is it suppressed the importance of specialization of work by people's skills and it suppressed the ability to invest or design in what the individual viewed as a good idea in order to produce a good return.

Not willpower, not nuclear weapons, it was this that broke the back of the USSR.  Economic reforms is the ONLY thing that saved China from recieving that fate sometime soon if they didn't reform their economic policies.

Just saying this sarcastically, remember that 3rd place is the 2nd best loser.