There is a great deal of interest in China's space program at the moment as it delivers news of the special safety features it has planned for Shenzhou V. This is in light of the recent Columbia space shuttle tragedy and the successful return of China's unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou IV. Those in charge at China aerospace technology department have said that the craft will be launched this autumn with special safety features for its human cargo.

Daytime Launch Set

The Shenzhou V is set to be launched during the daytime, in consideration, it is said, of the safety of its astronauts.

All previous space flights have occurred at night. "Severe Cold" was used to describe the conditions in reports on Shenzhou IV, when it was launched in the early hours of December 30, 2002. The launch time of Shenzhou I and Shenzhou II also took place in the early hours and midnight, respectively, while Shenzhou III was at 22:15, Beijing time.

Why all the concern over a nighttime launch? The time for launching the craft, also known as the launch "window" was originally set for optimum optical tracking of the craft in the night sky. However due to safety concerns, daytime temperatures now seem more conducive to a safe launch this time round.

Long March II F Rocket to Guide Successfully

The Long March II F rocket is the system used to propel the Shenzhou series of rockets into space. It is a safe and well tested carrier rocket with very strong propulsive power. The carrier has two new safety features, attached to the binding rocket (Long March II E), for the current space program: an escape detection system and fault detection system. China began developing the Long March II F rocket in 1992 and made its first successful flight in November 1999. Safety and reliability have always remained top priority with the space program team.

The escape system of the Long March II F rocket will first be activated during the launch procedure. The automatic fault detection system of the rocket conducts an automatic check 15 minutes before launch takes place. If the astronauts are on the tower frame, they can escape using the safety bag near to the tower frame; an elastic shoot will ensure their safe delivery to the ground. If the problem occurs when the astronauts are in the module, the system will order the escape tower, on the top of the rocket, into automatic ignition. The escape tower will then drag the orbit module and re-entry module from the rocket and bring it to a safety zone.

The Long March II F rocket has successfully launched three unmanned spacecrafts into scheduled orbit so far and its reliability and safety has been thoroughly tested.

Astronauts Undertake Zero Gravity Training

Aerospace conditions require that the astronaut must be fully trained before entering orbit. As well as other complications, one of the more severe symptoms of zero gravity is increased blood pressure to the head and upper body. To combat this, astronauts must be prepared by lying on a slanted bed, to slowly increase the blood flow up the body. Other changes include distortion to eye muscle and sclerotin loss. The training conditions for space travel are particularly arduous on the astronauts.

Space Program with Seven Systems

China's space program is made up of seven complete systems. They are: astronaut system, spacecraft application system, manned spacecraft system, carrier rocket system, launching system, control and monitoring system and the landing ground system.

The astronaut system manages the selection and training of all astronauts. It supervises the medical inspection of astronauts and makes suggestions for the design of the craft in relation to medical effects.

The space application system researches and investigates environmental conditions of life in space and manages a ground observation system for experiments there.

The manned spacecraft system has 13 branch systems. These include the propulsive module, orbit module, re-entry module and attached portion. The orbit module and re-entry module are all tightly sealed to ensure the safety of the astronauts.

The carrier rocket for China's manned space program is the Long March II F which is currently the highest, heaviest and most powerful rocket in the space program in China.

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in China's Gansu Province, is the site of responsibility for the launch cabinet system, and the testing site for spacecraft and rockets on the program.

The landing ground system manages the seek and recovery process of the re-entry module. Once the spacecraft has landed back on earth, it finds, recovers and opens the craft, bringing the astronauts to safety.

Finally, the control and monitoring system manages the measurement and remote control of the entire process from launch to re-entry and safe landing. It is also the only point of contact with the spacecraft.

Timeline of China's Space Program

China formally launched its official space program in September 1992 and began to select candidate astronauts.

November 20, 1999 saw the first experiment craft, Shenzhou I being successfully launched.

On January 10, 2001, the unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou II, returned safely to earth.

On March 25 2002, another unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou III, was launched and returned safely on April 1. This is the first craft to be fully equipped to carry man into space.

On December 30, 2002, the Shenzhou IV unmanned craft was launched and is the highest caliber test craft in the Chinese space program to date.

(China.org.cn by Wang Qian February 24, 2003)