Shenzhou 6
Encyclopedia
Shenzhou 6 was the second human spaceflight
of the People's Republic of China
, launched on October 12, 2005 on a Long March 2F
rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
. The Shenzhou spacecraft
carried a crew of Fèi Jùnlóng
(费俊龙) and Niè Hǎishèng
(聂海胜) for five days in low Earth orbit
. It launched three days before the second anniversary of China's first human spaceflight, Shenzhou 5
.
The crew were able to change out of their new lighter space suit
s, conduct scientific experiments, and enter the orbital module for the first time, giving them access to toilet facilities. The exact activities of the crew were kept secret but were thought by some to include military reconnaissance, however this is likely untrue given that similar experiments in the US and USSR determined that humans are not suited for military reconnaissance. It landed in the Siziwang Banner
of Inner Mongolia
on October 16, 2005, the same site as the previous manned and unmanned Shenzhou
flights.
Huang Chunping, the chief designer of the Long March 2F rocket, was quoted in the Beijing Times as saying the crew members who would fly the mission were selected from a pool of three pairs. Five pairs of astronauts trained for the flight and about one month before launch the two pairs with the lowest performance were dropped. The Ta Kung Pao
newspaper had reported that Zhai Zhigang and Nie Haisheng were the leading pair, after having been in the final group of three for Shenzhou 5
.
The crew arrived at the spacecraft about 2 hours and 45 minutes before the launch and the hatch closed 30 minutes after their arrival. At 01:00:03.583 UTC on October 12 Shenzhou 6 lifted off from the launch pad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
. The launch phase was reported to be normal with the escape rocket separating 120 seconds after launch when the rocket was travelling 1,300 m/s (4300 ft/s). Sixteen seconds later the four booster rockets separated at an altitude of 52 km (32.3 mi). The payload fairing
and first stage detached 200 seconds after launch. The second stage burned for a further 383 seconds and the spacecraft separated from the rocket 200 km (124.3 mi) above the Yellow Sea
. The spacecraft then used its own propulsion system to place it into a 211 km by 345 km (131 by 214 statute miles) orbit, with an inclination
of 42.4 degrees, about 21 minutes after launch. At 01:39 UTC Chen Bingde
, the Chief Commander of the Chinese space program
, announced the launch was successful. The crew ate their first meal in space at 03:11 UTC.
Before the flight, the launch time had been the object of speculation by the Chinese media. For several months before the planned launch its time was only given as mid-October, or even late-September. Then on September 23 it was reported by the Hong Kong-based news agency
China News Service
that the launch was tentatively scheduled for 03:00 UTC on October 13. This launch time was confirmed two weeks later by Jiang Jingshan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering
. But then on October 10 an official from the technical department of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center said the launch was then scheduled for 01:00 UTC on October 12. This new launch time could have been designed to dodge the cold weather which had been forecast to hit the area. Assembly of the rocket was reported complete on September 26. On October 4, the Shenzhou 6 spacecraft was attached to the CZ-2F rocket, also known as Shenjian.
Unlike the unmanned Shenzhou flights, Shenzhou 5
and 6 were launched during daylight hours to provide greater safety in case of abort. The launch was televised live with China Central Television
selling advertising for RMB¥
2.56 million (US$
316,000) for five seconds, to RMB¥8.56 million (US$1 million) for 30 seconds. A video camera had been added to the rocket and images of it were broadcast during the ascent and the separation of the Shenzhou spacecraft.
Shortly after launch, recovery crews began searching a region from the Badain Jaran Desert
in Inner Mongolia
to Shaanxi
for the launch escape tower, booster rockets, first stage and payload fairing. Of particular interest was the "black box
" of the rocket, which contained telemetry
that may not have been downlinked during the launch phase. It was found 45 minutes after launch somewhere near Otog Banner
. It was first sighted by a herdswoman, Lian Hua, about 1.5 km from her home. Other wreckage from the launch was found and destroyed at its impact location or brought back to Jiuquan.
General Secretary
and President
Hu Jintao
was present at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center to watch the launch. Premier
Wen Jiabao
was present at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
.
orbital elements
, it was in a 332 by 336 km (206 by 209 statute miles) orbit. After about an hour and a half, the hatch between the re-entry and orbital modules was opened and, for the first time, crew were able to enter the second living compartment of the Shenzhou spacecraft. Fèi Jùnlóng was the first to enter, while Niè Hǎishèng remained in the reentry module. They would swap positions about three hours later.
At 13:32 UTC, Niè and Fèi had a seven minute conversation with their wives and children who were in Mission Control. Niè's daughter sang "Happy Birthday to You
", as his birthday is October 13.
The activities of the crew were not fully revealed by the Chinese. Only vague references to experiments were made, though some were made public. One experiment involved the crew testing the reaction of the spacecraft to movement within the orbital and reentry modules. They moved between the modules, opening and closing the hatches and operating equipment with "more strength" than normally required.
A second orbital maneuver occurred at 21:56 on October 13. It raised the orbit that had been lowered due to atmospheric drag, and lasted 6.5 seconds.
On October 15, Niè and Fèi had a two minute conversation with General Secretary
and President
Hu Jintao
, beginning at 08:29. During the conversation, Hu told them "The motherland and people are proud of you. I hope you will successfully complete your task by carrying out the mission calmly and carefully and have a triumphant return".
The re-entry process began at 19:44 on October 16 when the orbital module separated as planned from the rest of the spacecraft. Unlike with the Soyuz spacecraft
, this is done before the re-entry burn, allowing the orbital module to stay in orbit for extended months-long missions or to act as a docking target for later flights. The orbital module fired its engines twice on October 19 to give it a circular orbit with a height of 355 km (220.6 mi).
One minute after this separation, the engines on the service module ignited over the coast of West Africa
to slow the spacecraft. At 20:07, the re-entry module separated and five minutes later the re-entry proper began, as the Shenzhou capsule entered the top of the atmosphere, over China. The communications blackout
that occurs during re-entry started at 20:16 and two minutes later radio communication was regained with the spacecraft. The main parachute opened and the capsule began to slowly descend to a landing on the Inner Mongolia northern grasslands at 4:33 a.m. local time (20:33 UTC). The capsule landed approximately 1 km (about 1000 yards) from its planned target.
About half an hour after landing, the recovery forces had the hatch of the spacecraft open and first Fèi, and then Niè emerged. Hou Ying, chief designer of the landing site system, said the recovery was improved over that of Shenzhou 5. After medical check-ups and a light meal the astronauts were put on a special plane bound for Beijing, where they were placed into medical isolation for the following two weeks. At 21:46, Chen Bingde
had declared the entire mission to be a success.
The capsule was returned to Beijing by train and handed over to China Research Institute of Space Technology at Changping railway station
.
The orbital module continued to orbit the Earth, gathering more information from experiments onboard. The module also gave Chinese mission controllers experience at long-duration spaceflights. After 2,920 orbits of the Earth, its active mission ended on April 15, 2006. It is still in orbit, and will reenter when its orbit sufficiently decays.
There were two planned landing sites for the mission. The primary site was the banner of Siziwang in Inner Mongolia
. The secondary site was at the Jiuquan launch site. In addition, there were recovery forces at Yinchuan, Yulin
and Handan
. It is also possible for the Shenzhou spacecraft to splashdown
in the ocean should the need arise, with further recovery crews in the Yellow Sea
, the East China Sea
and the Pacific Ocean.
Some Chinese diplomats are trained and equipped for any emergency landing at sites that are not on Chinese territory. Zhang Shuting, chief designer of the emergency and rescue system, has said that emergency landing sites have been identified in Australia, Southwest Asia
, North Africa
, Western Europe
, the United States and South America. The diplomatic mission nearest to the landing site will be given the task to head any rescue mission if necessary. The Chinese government had advised Australia that emergency landing sites have been identified in New South Wales
, Queensland, the Northern Territory
and Western Australia. Emergency Management Australia
, the Australian government
agency that co-ordinates the response to major contingencies, has said they are ready to deal with any emergencies that arise during spaceflights. However, the return module is designed to allow access from the outside only to those with a special key. A copy of this key has not been made available to Australian officials, but it was reported that an unnamed Chinese military attaché
at the Chinese embassy in Canberra
had one.
. The Wen Wei Po
newspaper have reported that the rocket appeared the same as that used for Shenzhou 5 except that a "transition segment" was visible at the top of the Shenzhou 6 stack, attached to one end of the orbital module.
China Aerospace Science and Technology, the major manufacturer of both the Shenzhou spacecraft and the Long March rocket have said that although the flight featured a second astronaut and was much longer than Shenzhou 5, the rocket and spacecraft did not weigh much more due to optimisation of its systems. Only 200 kg (about 440 lb) more was needed for the second astronaut. Among the amenities on board for the crew was hot food, sleeping bags and essential sanitary equipment. The sleeping bag was hooked to a wall of the orbital module and the crew had alternating sleep periods. The shock absorber
s in the crew seats were redesigned so as to provide more safety to the crew in case the braking rockets fail to fire just before touchdown. The flight telemetry recorder on the spacecraft had its memory increased to about 1 gigabyte
, and the read/write speed was now 10 times as fast as the computers carried on previous flights. It was also about half the size of that carried on Shenzhou 5. Overall, 95% of the Shenzhou 6 space capsule is indigenously designed/produced in China, the highest rate in comparison to the previous ones.
The menu included pineapple
-filled mooncake
s, green vegetables, braised bamboo shoots
, rice
, and bean congee. In total there was 40 kg (about 88 lb) of food on board. A somewhat strange aspect of the mission reported in the Chinese press was the fixation on the purity of drinking water for the astronauts, where it was claimed that their water reportedly comes from a mine 1.7 km (1.1 mi) underground and was disinfected with an electrolytic
silver
solution. It has thus been said by the press that they are drinking the "purest water in China". Since it is commonly known that water produced by a process of reverse osmosis
and deionization would produce water of a far higher purity than any naturally found underground, it is possible that the use of water specifically from one of China's deepest mines may have been used to carry a symbolic meaning to the mission.
It had been reported that, on Shenzhou 5, astronaut Yang Liwei
suffered from a "minor heartache" after his launch. It is thought that this refers to space adaptation syndrome
experienced by about one third of astronauts during the first few days of a spaceflight. The People's Daily
said that the interior design of the spacecraft has been changed to hopefully lessen the likelihood of nausea
and other symptoms.
of pig
s from Rongchang County, Chongqing
. But on October 11 it was revealed by Liu Luxiang, director of the Centre for Space Breeding at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, that there were no plans for animal or plant seeds on the flight. He said the focus of Shenzhou 6 was the physical reactions of the crew to the space environment. This was seemingly contradicted a year and a half after the flight when sweet potato
es started being sold for Valentine's Day
that had been grown from seeds reportedly taken on the flight.
Morris Jones who writes for SpaceDaily.com has speculated that the lack of any other announced experiments suggested that the mission could be oriented more toward the military. The crew could have operated a large surveillance film camera, supplementing the unmanned recoverable satellite program.
There are 20 land-based tracking stations in the Chinese space telemetry network. These are supplemented by four Yuanwang
-series tracking ships. The Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center
global map showed their positions to be:
Only one other land-based tracking station is outside China — at Swakopmund
in Namibia
.
Shortly after the Shenzhou 5 flight in 2003, the Pacific nation of Kiribati
established diplomatic ties
with the Republic of China
(Taiwan), leading the People's Republic of China (PRC) to cut off diplomatic ties under its One-China policy
. Following this, the PRC has dismantled a tracking
station that had been built on Tarawa
, the capital island of Kiribati, to track spaceflights.
Alexander Downer
stated that "Australia warmly welcomes the success of China's mission into space". – President Georgi Parvanov
sent a letter to Hu Jintao congratulating the PRC on the "remarkable achievements in peaceful exploitation of the outer space". – Ndoumba Eloungou Nestor, secretary of Cameroon's External Relations Ministry said the launch encouraged a vast number of developing countries. – President
Jacques Chirac
congratulated the successful return of the spacecraft. – Chief Cabinet Secretary
Hiroyuki Hosoda
hoped the crew would have a safe return and said development in China of manned spacecraft was not a "military threat". – Nikolai Moiseyev, deputy head of the Russian Federal Space Agency
said "another power has joined the space club" and that Russia looked "forward to further cooperation with them in all areas". – President
S.R. Nathan sent a congratulatory letter to President Hu Jintao saying it was a proud moment for all Chinese. – Minister of State for Information Nsaba Buturo said the launch will stop the domination of outer space by a few countries in the world.
Xinhua News Agency coverage
Dragon Space – China's civilian, military and manned space programs
Shenzhou 6 – China's Second Manned Space Mission
Spacefacts data about Shenzhou 6
Shenzhou 6 training photographs. From Xinmin Evening News
(in Chinese)
"Getting ready for space flight tomorrow—"Heroic astronaut team" makes preparations for manned spaceflight", PLA Daily. Accessed July 24, 2005
"Satellite Spots China’s Manned Rocket", Space.com article about IKONOS
satellite image of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Human spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, launched on October 12, 2005 on a Long March 2F
Long March 2F
The Long March 2F , also known as the CZ-2F, LM-2F and Shenjian, is a Chinese manned orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March rocket family. Designed to launch manned Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March 2F is a man-rated two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based...
rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is a People's Republic of China space vehicle launch facility .The facility is part of Dongfeng Aerospace City , and is located in the Gobi desert, Ejin Banner , Alxa League , Inner Mongolia, situated about 1,600 km from Beijing.- History :It was founded in 1958,...
. The Shenzhou spacecraft
Shenzhou spacecraft
Shenzhou is a spacecraft developed and operated by the People's Republic of China to support its manned spaceflight program. The name is variously translated as "Divine Craft," "Divine Vessel of God," "Magic Boat" or similar and is also homophonous with an ancient name for China...
carried a crew of Fèi Jùnlóng
Fei Junlong
Colonel Fei Junlong is a Chinese military pilot and an astronaut. He flew on the second manned spaceflight of the Shenzhou program....
(费俊龙) and Niè Hǎishèng
Nie Haisheng
Colonel Niè Hǎishèng is a Chinese military pilot and CNSA astronaut .-Military career:Nie was born in Yangdang town of Zaoyang, Hubei Province. After graduating from high school he joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force and became a fighter pilot. During his training at the PLAAF's No...
(聂海胜) for five days in low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
. It launched three days before the second anniversary of China's first human spaceflight, Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5 — was the first human spaceflight mission of the People's Republic of China , launched on October 15, 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous flights of unmanned Shenzhou missions since 1999...
.
The crew were able to change out of their new lighter space suit
Space suit
A space suit is a garment worn to keep an astronaut alive in the harsh environment of outer space. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extra-vehicular activity , work done outside spacecraft...
s, conduct scientific experiments, and enter the orbital module for the first time, giving them access to toilet facilities. The exact activities of the crew were kept secret but were thought by some to include military reconnaissance, however this is likely untrue given that similar experiments in the US and USSR determined that humans are not suited for military reconnaissance. It landed in the Siziwang Banner
Siziwang Banner
Siziwang Banner is a banner in Inner Mongolia, China, which is located about north of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia.-Administration:...
of Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
on October 16, 2005, the same site as the previous manned and unmanned Shenzhou
Shenzhou
Shenzhou may refer to:*Shenzhou , or "Divine Land", name of China*Shenzhou City, in Hebei, China*Shenzhou , an album by ambient musician Biosphere*Shenzhou program, a manned spaceflight initiative by the People's Republic of China...
flights.
Crew
Backup Team 1
Back-up Team 2
Crew notes
This is the first spaceflight for both crew members. The crew was introduced to the Chinese public and international media about five hours before the launch. Niè Hǎishèng celebrated his 41st birthday in space.Huang Chunping, the chief designer of the Long March 2F rocket, was quoted in the Beijing Times as saying the crew members who would fly the mission were selected from a pool of three pairs. Five pairs of astronauts trained for the flight and about one month before launch the two pairs with the lowest performance were dropped. The Ta Kung Pao
Ta Kung Pao
Ta Kung Pao is the oldest active Chinese language newspaper in China. It is based in Hong Kong and has been funded by the government of the People's Republic of China since 1949...
newspaper had reported that Zhai Zhigang and Nie Haisheng were the leading pair, after having been in the final group of three for Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5 — was the first human spaceflight mission of the People's Republic of China , launched on October 15, 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous flights of unmanned Shenzhou missions since 1999...
.
Launch
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is a People's Republic of China space vehicle launch facility .The facility is part of Dongfeng Aerospace City , and is located in the Gobi desert, Ejin Banner , Alxa League , Inner Mongolia, situated about 1,600 km from Beijing.- History :It was founded in 1958,...
. The launch phase was reported to be normal with the escape rocket separating 120 seconds after launch when the rocket was travelling 1,300 m/s (4300 ft/s). Sixteen seconds later the four booster rockets separated at an altitude of 52 km (32.3 mi). The payload fairing
Payload fairing
Payload fairing is one of the main components of a launch vehicle. The fairing protects the payload during the ascent against the impact of the atmosphere . More recently, an additional function is to maintain the cleanroom environment for precision instruments.Outside the atmosphere the fairing is...
and first stage detached 200 seconds after launch. The second stage burned for a further 383 seconds and the spacecraft separated from the rocket 200 km (124.3 mi) above the Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
. The spacecraft then used its own propulsion system to place it into a 211 km by 345 km (131 by 214 statute miles) orbit, with an inclination
Inclination
Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.-Orbits:The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
of 42.4 degrees, about 21 minutes after launch. At 01:39 UTC Chen Bingde
Chen Bingde
Chen Bingde is a general in the People's Liberation Army. He was the Director-General of the General Armaments Department until September 2007. In this position he acted as the head of the space program of China. Currently he is the commanding general of People's Liberation Army General Staff...
, the Chief Commander of the Chinese space program
Chinese space program
The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration . Its technological roots can be traced back to the late 1950s, when the People's Republic began a rudimentary ballistic missile program in response to perceived American threats...
, announced the launch was successful. The crew ate their first meal in space at 03:11 UTC.
Before the flight, the launch time had been the object of speculation by the Chinese media. For several months before the planned launch its time was only given as mid-October, or even late-September. Then on September 23 it was reported by the Hong Kong-based news agency
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
China News Service
China News Service
The China News Service is the second largest state-owned news agency in the People's Republic of China, after the Xinhua News Agency. It serves mainly overseas Chinese and residents of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan....
that the launch was tentatively scheduled for 03:00 UTC on October 13. This launch time was confirmed two weeks later by Jiang Jingshan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering
Chinese Academy of Engineering
The Chinese Academy of Engineering is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China...
. But then on October 10 an official from the technical department of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center said the launch was then scheduled for 01:00 UTC on October 12. This new launch time could have been designed to dodge the cold weather which had been forecast to hit the area. Assembly of the rocket was reported complete on September 26. On October 4, the Shenzhou 6 spacecraft was attached to the CZ-2F rocket, also known as Shenjian.
Unlike the unmanned Shenzhou flights, Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5 — was the first human spaceflight mission of the People's Republic of China , launched on October 15, 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous flights of unmanned Shenzhou missions since 1999...
and 6 were launched during daylight hours to provide greater safety in case of abort. The launch was televised live with China Central Television
China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
selling advertising for RMB¥
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
2.56 million (US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
316,000) for five seconds, to RMB¥8.56 million (US$1 million) for 30 seconds. A video camera had been added to the rocket and images of it were broadcast during the ascent and the separation of the Shenzhou spacecraft.
Shortly after launch, recovery crews began searching a region from the Badain Jaran Desert
Badain Jaran Desert
The Badain Jaran Desert is a desert in China which spans the provinces of Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. It covers an area of 49,000 sq. kilometers ....
in Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
to Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
for the launch escape tower, booster rockets, first stage and payload fairing. Of particular interest was the "black box
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...
" of the rocket, which contained telemetry
Telemetry
Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure...
that may not have been downlinked during the launch phase. It was found 45 minutes after launch somewhere near Otog Banner
Otog Banner
Otog Banner is a county of southwestern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Ordos City, and borders Otog Front Banner to the southwest and Uxin Banner to the southeast.-References:*...
. It was first sighted by a herdswoman, Lian Hua, about 1.5 km from her home. Other wreckage from the launch was found and destroyed at its impact location or brought back to Jiuquan.
General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , officially General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China, a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat...
and President
President of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
was present at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center to watch the launch. Premier
Premier of the People's Republic of China
The Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , sometimes also referred to as the "Prime Minister" informally, is the Leader of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , who is the head of government and holds the highest-ranking of the Civil service of the...
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...
was present at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is a People's Republic of China space vehicle launch facility .The facility is part of Dongfeng Aerospace City , and is located in the Gobi desert, Ejin Banner , Alxa League , Inner Mongolia, situated about 1,600 km from Beijing.- History :It was founded in 1958,...
.
Five days in orbit
The first of several orbit changing maneuvers happened as planned at 07:54:45, with a 63 second burn to circularize the orbit. Based on United States Space CommandUnited States Space Command
The United States Space Command was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense, created in 1985 to help institutionalize the use of outer space by the United States Armed Forces. The Commander in Chief of U.S...
orbital elements
Orbital elements
Orbital elements are the parameters required to uniquely identify a specific orbit. In celestial mechanics these elements are generally considered in classical two-body systems, where a Kepler orbit is used...
, it was in a 332 by 336 km (206 by 209 statute miles) orbit. After about an hour and a half, the hatch between the re-entry and orbital modules was opened and, for the first time, crew were able to enter the second living compartment of the Shenzhou spacecraft. Fèi Jùnlóng was the first to enter, while Niè Hǎishèng remained in the reentry module. They would swap positions about three hours later.
At 13:32 UTC, Niè and Fèi had a seven minute conversation with their wives and children who were in Mission Control. Niè's daughter sang "Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
", as his birthday is October 13.
The activities of the crew were not fully revealed by the Chinese. Only vague references to experiments were made, though some were made public. One experiment involved the crew testing the reaction of the spacecraft to movement within the orbital and reentry modules. They moved between the modules, opening and closing the hatches and operating equipment with "more strength" than normally required.
A second orbital maneuver occurred at 21:56 on October 13. It raised the orbit that had been lowered due to atmospheric drag, and lasted 6.5 seconds.
On October 15, Niè and Fèi had a two minute conversation with General Secretary
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , officially General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China, a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat...
and President
President of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
, beginning at 08:29. During the conversation, Hu told them "The motherland and people are proud of you. I hope you will successfully complete your task by carrying out the mission calmly and carefully and have a triumphant return".
Re-entry and landing
Soyuz spacecraft
Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today...
, this is done before the re-entry burn, allowing the orbital module to stay in orbit for extended months-long missions or to act as a docking target for later flights. The orbital module fired its engines twice on October 19 to give it a circular orbit with a height of 355 km (220.6 mi).
One minute after this separation, the engines on the service module ignited over the coast of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
to slow the spacecraft. At 20:07, the re-entry module separated and five minutes later the re-entry proper began, as the Shenzhou capsule entered the top of the atmosphere, over China. The communications blackout
Communications blackout
In telecommunications, communications blackouts are*a cessation of communications or communications capability, caused by a lack of power to a communications facility or to communications equipment....
that occurs during re-entry started at 20:16 and two minutes later radio communication was regained with the spacecraft. The main parachute opened and the capsule began to slowly descend to a landing on the Inner Mongolia northern grasslands at 4:33 a.m. local time (20:33 UTC). The capsule landed approximately 1 km (about 1000 yards) from its planned target.
About half an hour after landing, the recovery forces had the hatch of the spacecraft open and first Fèi, and then Niè emerged. Hou Ying, chief designer of the landing site system, said the recovery was improved over that of Shenzhou 5. After medical check-ups and a light meal the astronauts were put on a special plane bound for Beijing, where they were placed into medical isolation for the following two weeks. At 21:46, Chen Bingde
Chen Bingde
Chen Bingde is a general in the People's Liberation Army. He was the Director-General of the General Armaments Department until September 2007. In this position he acted as the head of the space program of China. Currently he is the commanding general of People's Liberation Army General Staff...
had declared the entire mission to be a success.
The capsule was returned to Beijing by train and handed over to China Research Institute of Space Technology at Changping railway station
Changping railway station
For the station formerly named Changping , see Dongguan Railway StationChangping railway station is a railway station in Beijing.Changping is a district in north Beijing, the station is the main station of the district.- Schedules :...
.
The orbital module continued to orbit the Earth, gathering more information from experiments onboard. The module also gave Chinese mission controllers experience at long-duration spaceflights. After 2,920 orbits of the Earth, its active mission ended on April 15, 2006. It is still in orbit, and will reenter when its orbit sufficiently decays.
There were two planned landing sites for the mission. The primary site was the banner of Siziwang in Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
. The secondary site was at the Jiuquan launch site. In addition, there were recovery forces at Yinchuan, Yulin
Yulin, Shaanxi
Yulin is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanxi province of the People's Republic of China. It has an area of 43,578 km² and a population of 3,380,000.-Geography and climate:...
and Handan
Handan
Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China.- History :Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period , after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of...
. It is also possible for the Shenzhou spacecraft to splashdown
Splashdown (spacecraft landing)
Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft by parachute in a body of water. It was used by American manned spacecraft prior to the Space Shuttle program. It is also possible for the Russian Soyuz spacecraft and Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft to land in water, though this is only a contingency...
in the ocean should the need arise, with further recovery crews in the Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
, the East China Sea
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
and the Pacific Ocean.
Some Chinese diplomats are trained and equipped for any emergency landing at sites that are not on Chinese territory. Zhang Shuting, chief designer of the emergency and rescue system, has said that emergency landing sites have been identified in Australia, Southwest Asia
Southwest Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia...
, North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, the United States and South America. The diplomatic mission nearest to the landing site will be given the task to head any rescue mission if necessary. The Chinese government had advised Australia that emergency landing sites have been identified in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Queensland, the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
and Western Australia. Emergency Management Australia
Emergency Management Australia
Emergency Management Australia is an Australian Federal Government Agency tasked with coordinating governmental responses to emergency incidents...
, the Australian government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
agency that co-ordinates the response to major contingencies, has said they are ready to deal with any emergencies that arise during spaceflights. However, the return module is designed to allow access from the outside only to those with a special key. A copy of this key has not been made available to Australian officials, but it was reported that an unnamed Chinese military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
at the Chinese embassy in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
had one.
Project management
As with previous Shenzhou series, Chinese military is heavily involved, and in official Chinese documents, project managers are referred as project commanders instead:- General project manager / commander: Chen BingdeChen BingdeChen Bingde is a general in the People's Liberation Army. He was the Director-General of the General Armaments Department until September 2007. In this position he acted as the head of the space program of China. Currently he is the commanding general of People's Liberation Army General Staff...
- 1st vice general project manager / commander: Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant GeneralLieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Hu Shixiang (胡世祥), vice director-general of General Armaments DepartmentGeneral Armaments DepartmentGeneral Armaments Department was founded in April 1998. It is a chief organ under Central Military Commission of CPC, responsible for People's Liberation Army's armaments.-Structure :... - Vice general project manager / commander: Zhang QingweiZhang QingweiZhang Qingwei is the current chairman of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense of the People's Republic of China....
- Vice general project manager / commander: Jiang MianhengJiang MianhengJiang Mianheng is the son of Jiang Zemin, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China. Jiang is one of the co-founders of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation , located in Shanghai. He holds a PhD in Electrical...
- Vice general project manager / commander: Sun LaiyanSun LaiyanSun Laiyan is the current Administrator of the China National Space Administration . He was appointed to this position in 2004.-Biography:...
- General engineer: Wang YongzhiWang YongzhiWang Yongzhi , born in Changtu County, Liaoning, China, is an aerospace scientist and academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He is notable for being the general architect and designer of China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6...
- Vice general engineer: Zhou Jianping (周建平), who was born in Wangcheng CountyWangcheng CountyWangcheng District is a district of Changsha, the capital of Hunan province in China. Wangcheng has a population of 706500 .-History:...
, 1957. He obtained his M.S .from Dalian University of TechnologyDalian University of TechnologyDalian University of Technology , colloquially known in Chinese as Dagong , is located in Dalian, Liaoning, People's Republic of China and directly administered by the state Ministry of Education.-Introduction:...
, his Ph.D from National University of Defense Technology, where he became a professor. From 1993 thru 1995, he studies in the United States. He would later become the general engineer for Shenzhou 7Shenzhou 7- Backup crew :Of the back-up crew, only Chen Quan had not previously flown in space.- Mission highlights :The Long March 2F rocket launched the Shenzhou 7 into an initial elliptical orbit of 200 x 330 kilometres inclined at 42.4 degrees on 25 September 2008. About seven hours later the spacecraft...
. - Director of Jiuquan Satellite Launch CenterJiuquan Satellite Launch CenterJiuquan Satellite Launch Center is a People's Republic of China space vehicle launch facility .The facility is part of Dongfeng Aerospace City , and is located in the Gobi desert, Ejin Banner , Alxa League , Inner Mongolia, situated about 1,600 km from Beijing.- History :It was founded in 1958,...
: Major GeneralMajor GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Zhang Yulin (张育林) - Vice director of Jiuquan Satellite Launch CenterJiuquan Satellite Launch CenterJiuquan Satellite Launch Center is a People's Republic of China space vehicle launch facility .The facility is part of Dongfeng Aerospace City , and is located in the Gobi desert, Ejin Banner , Alxa League , Inner Mongolia, situated about 1,600 km from Beijing.- History :It was founded in 1958,...
: Major GeneralMajor GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Cui Jijun (崔吉俊) - General engineer of ground support at Jiuquan Satellite Launch CenterJiuquan Satellite Launch CenterJiuquan Satellite Launch Center is a People's Republic of China space vehicle launch facility .The facility is part of Dongfeng Aerospace City , and is located in the Gobi desert, Ejin Banner , Alxa League , Inner Mongolia, situated about 1,600 km from Beijing.- History :It was founded in 1958,...
: Wang Jingan (王金安)
Upgrades
The Chinese space officials have said that the Long March 2F rocket featured a "fire security system" on the escape tower. Speculation on what this means ranges from better fail-safes to stop accidental firings, to the addition of a fire extinguisherFire extinguisher
A fire extinguisher or extinguisher, flame entinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations...
. The Wen Wei Po
Wen Wei Po
Wen Wei Po is a Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper, which was first established in Shanghai in January 1938; its Hong Kong version was launched on 9 September 1948....
newspaper have reported that the rocket appeared the same as that used for Shenzhou 5 except that a "transition segment" was visible at the top of the Shenzhou 6 stack, attached to one end of the orbital module.
China Aerospace Science and Technology, the major manufacturer of both the Shenzhou spacecraft and the Long March rocket have said that although the flight featured a second astronaut and was much longer than Shenzhou 5, the rocket and spacecraft did not weigh much more due to optimisation of its systems. Only 200 kg (about 440 lb) more was needed for the second astronaut. Among the amenities on board for the crew was hot food, sleeping bags and essential sanitary equipment. The sleeping bag was hooked to a wall of the orbital module and the crew had alternating sleep periods. The shock absorber
Shock absorber
A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy. It is a type of dashpot.-Nomenclature:...
s in the crew seats were redesigned so as to provide more safety to the crew in case the braking rockets fail to fire just before touchdown. The flight telemetry recorder on the spacecraft had its memory increased to about 1 gigabyte
Gigabyte
The gigabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage. The prefix giga means 109 in the International System of Units , therefore 1 gigabyte is...
, and the read/write speed was now 10 times as fast as the computers carried on previous flights. It was also about half the size of that carried on Shenzhou 5. Overall, 95% of the Shenzhou 6 space capsule is indigenously designed/produced in China, the highest rate in comparison to the previous ones.
The menu included pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
-filled mooncake
Mooncake
Mooncake is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival / Zhongqiu Festival. The festival is for lunar worship and moon watching; mooncakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy on this occasion. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings...
s, green vegetables, braised bamboo shoots
Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo Shoots is an American four-piece musical group based out of Brooklyn, New York and suburban New Jersey. They are known for their dueling, two-person rhythm section and their South Asian identity and influence...
, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, and bean congee. In total there was 40 kg (about 88 lb) of food on board. A somewhat strange aspect of the mission reported in the Chinese press was the fixation on the purity of drinking water for the astronauts, where it was claimed that their water reportedly comes from a mine 1.7 km (1.1 mi) underground and was disinfected with an electrolytic
Electrolyte
In chemistry, an electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive. The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible....
silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
solution. It has thus been said by the press that they are drinking the "purest water in China". Since it is commonly known that water produced by a process of reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis is a membrane technical filtration method that removes many types of large molecules and ions from solutions by applying pressure to the solution when it is on one side of a selective membrane. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and...
and deionization would produce water of a far higher purity than any naturally found underground, it is possible that the use of water specifically from one of China's deepest mines may have been used to carry a symbolic meaning to the mission.
It had been reported that, on Shenzhou 5, astronaut Yang Liwei
Yang Liwei
Yáng Lìwěi is a Chinese major general and military pilot and a CNSA astronaut. He was the first man sent into space by the Chinese space program and his mission, Shenzhou 5, made China the third country to independently send people into space.-Background:...
suffered from a "minor heartache" after his launch. It is thought that this refers to space adaptation syndrome
Space adaptation syndrome
Space adaptation syndrome or space sickness is a condition experienced by around half of space travelers during adaptation to weightlessness. It is related to motion sickness, as the vestibular system adapts to weightlessness.- Cause and remedy :...
experienced by about one third of astronauts during the first few days of a spaceflight. The People's Daily
People's Daily
The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
said that the interior design of the spacecraft has been changed to hopefully lessen the likelihood of nausea
Nausea
Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...
and other symptoms.
Experiments
It was announced in July 2005 that Shenzhou 6 would carry one experiment involving the spermSpermatozoon
A spermatozoon is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote...
of pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s from Rongchang County, Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
. But on October 11 it was revealed by Liu Luxiang, director of the Centre for Space Breeding at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, that there were no plans for animal or plant seeds on the flight. He said the focus of Shenzhou 6 was the physical reactions of the crew to the space environment. This was seemingly contradicted a year and a half after the flight when sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
es started being sold for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
that had been grown from seeds reportedly taken on the flight.
Morris Jones who writes for SpaceDaily.com has speculated that the lack of any other announced experiments suggested that the mission could be oriented more toward the military. The crew could have operated a large surveillance film camera, supplementing the unmanned recoverable satellite program.
Space toilet
Whilst in space, the two crew members tested a new piece of Chinese space technology – an 'excrement collecting facility' or space toilet. The previous manned mission, Shenzhou 5, did not have this facility. Curiously, news reports during the next manned Chinese mission, Shenzhou 7, said that Shenzhou 7 was the first Chinese manned mission to have a space toilet.Tracking
Yuanwang
The Yuanwang-class are used for tracking and support of satellite and intercontinental ballistic missiles by the People's Liberation Army Navy of the People's Republic of China ....
-series tracking ships. The Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center
Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center
Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center is a command center for the Chinese space program which includes the Shenzhou missions. The space center is supervised and managed by the government of the People's Republic of China. BACCC's primary functions include supervision, telemetry, tracking...
global map showed their positions to be:
- Yuanwang 1 in the Yellow SeaYellow SeaThe Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
- Yuanwang 2 about 1500 km (about 900 statute miles) southwest of French PolynesiaFrench PolynesiaFrench Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
- Yuanwang 3 off the NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
n coast - Yuanwang 4 off the coast of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean
Only one other land-based tracking station is outside China — at Swakopmund
Swakopmund
Swakopmund is a city on the coast of northwestern Namibia, west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As a seaside resort, the weather is cooler here in December to January so the territorial administration moves to Swakopmund for these months...
in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
.
Shortly after the Shenzhou 5 flight in 2003, the Pacific nation of Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
established diplomatic ties
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
with the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(Taiwan), leading the People's Republic of China (PRC) to cut off diplomatic ties under its One-China policy
One-China policy
The One-China policy refers to the policy or view that there is only one state called "China", despite the existence of two governments that claim to be "China"....
. Following this, the PRC has dismantled a tracking
Telemetry
Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure...
station that had been built on Tarawa
Tarawa Atoll
Tarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. It is the location of the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, South Tarawa...
, the capital island of Kiribati, to track spaceflights.
Statements from the Greater China area
-
The Central Government of the People's Republic of China – PremierPremier of the People's Republic of ChinaThe Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , sometimes also referred to as the "Prime Minister" informally, is the Leader of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , who is the head of government and holds the highest-ranking of the Civil service of the...
Wen JiabaoWen JiabaoWen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...
reiterated China's policy for peaceful use of space and hailed the successful launch. -
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China – Chief ExecutiveChief Executive of Hong KongThe Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...
Donald TsangDonald TsangSir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, GBM, KBE is the current Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of the Government of Hong Kong....
congratulated the motherland on the successful launch. -
The KuomintangKuomintangThe Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
(Chinese Nationalist Party) of the Republic of ChinaRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
(TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
) – Lien ChanLien ChanLien Chan is a politician in Taiwan. He was Premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, Vice President of the Republic of China from 1996 to 2000, and was the Chairman of the Kuomintang from 2000 to 2005...
, honorary party chairman, said the "great scientific achievement is worthy of joy and pride".
Foreign countries and international organizations
– Foreign MinisterMinister for Foreign Affairs (Australia)
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs is responsible for overseeing the international diplomacy section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In common with international practice, the office is often informally referred to as Foreign Minister...
Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
stated that "Australia warmly welcomes the success of China's mission into space". – President Georgi Parvanov
Georgi Parvanov
Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov is a President of Bulgaria, whose second and last mandate expires on January 22, 2012; he was elected after defeating his predecessor Petar Stoyanov in the second round of the presidential elections in November 2001 and he came into office on January 22, 2002...
sent a letter to Hu Jintao congratulating the PRC on the "remarkable achievements in peaceful exploitation of the outer space". – Ndoumba Eloungou Nestor, secretary of Cameroon's External Relations Ministry said the launch encouraged a vast number of developing countries. – President
President of the French Republic
The President of the French Republic colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France's elected Head of State....
Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
congratulated the successful return of the spacecraft. – Chief Cabinet Secretary
Chief Cabinet Secretary
__notoc__The of Japan is a Minister of State who is responsible for directing the Cabinet Secretariat. The main function of Chief Cabinet Secretary is to coordinate the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch...
Hiroyuki Hosoda
Hiroyuki Hosoda
is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet . From 2004 to 2005, he was the Chief Cabinet Secretary in Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinets, succeeded by Shinzō Abe on October 31, 2005....
hoped the crew would have a safe return and said development in China of manned spacecraft was not a "military threat". – Nikolai Moiseyev, deputy head of the Russian Federal Space Agency
Russian Federal Space Agency
The Russian Federal Space Agency , commonly called Roscosmos and abbreviated as FKA and RKA , is the government agency responsible for the Russian space science program and general aerospace research. It was previously the Russian Aviation and Space Agency .Headquarters of Roscosmos are located...
said "another power has joined the space club" and that Russia looked "forward to further cooperation with them in all areas". – President
President of Singapore
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...
S.R. Nathan sent a congratulatory letter to President Hu Jintao saying it was a proud moment for all Chinese. – Minister of State for Information Nsaba Buturo said the launch will stop the domination of outer space by a few countries in the world.
-
United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
– A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-GeneralUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralThe Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
Kofi AnnanKofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, said that Annan extended his "warm congratulations...on the safe and successful completion of its second mission into space". – Deputy State DepartmentUnited States Department of StateThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
spokesman Adam Ereli congratulated China on the launch of its second manned spacecraft, and applauded its success as only the third nation with this capability.-
NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
– Administrator Michael GriffinMichael D. GriffinMichael Douglas Griffin is an American physicist and aerospace engineer. From April 13, 2005 to January 20, 2009 he served as Administrator of NASA, the space agency of the United States...
congratulated China on its launch and wished them a safe journey. In his remarks, he noted "China, once again, has demonstrated that it is among the elite number of countries capable of human space flight. We wish them well on their mission, and we look forward to the safe return of their astronauts."
-
-
European Space AgencyEuropean Space AgencyThe European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
– European astronaut Frank De WinneFrank De WinneFrank, Viscount De Winne is a Belgian Air Component officer and an ESA astronaut. He is Belgium's second person in space . He was the first ESA astronaut to command a space mission when he served as commander of ISS Expedition 21.-Education:De Winne graduated in 1979 from the Royal School of Cadets...
wished the crew a smooth journey. He commented on the fact that Europe had yet to create its own independent manned spacecraft.
External links
Xinmin Evening News
Xinmin Evening News , formerly known as Xinmin Po, is a newspaper published since September, 1929 in Shanghai, China.It is now owned by Wenhui-xinmin United Press Group...
(in Chinese)
IKONOS
IKONOS is a commercial earth observation satellite, and was the first to collect publicly available high-resolution imagery at 1- and 4-meter resolution. It offers multispectral and panchromatic imagery. The IKONOS launch was called by John E. Pike “one of the most significant developments in...
satellite image of Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center