本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Chinese space program shoots for the moon
Chang'e 1: Lunar orbiting probe launch planned for April: Nationalpost.com
Peter Goodspeed
National Post
Friday, March 09, 2007
CREDIT: China Photos, Getty Images
The Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) VI spacecraft carried two astronauts on a five-day manned space flight around the Earth in October, 2005.
Rapidly emerging as a regional power in Asia with superpower ambitions, China has now set its sights on the moon.
Having astounded the world with two decades of double-digit economic growth, China's leaders this week announced they plan to launch their first lunar orbiting space probe in April and may be ready to land a man on the moon within 15 years.
The aggressive space program could see Chinese scientists stage at least 10 space launches this year alone, with the premier event this spring when Beijing takes the wraps off a three-year program to design and develop the Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter.
Named after a Chinese goddess who legend says was a beautiful fairy who stole a magic potion that caused her to float away to the moon, the orbiter has been on the drawing board for three years in a project employing some 10,000 scientists.
When it blasts off atop a Long March 3A rocket next month, the Chang'e 1 will be placed in orbit about 200 kilometres above the moon.
Over the next year it will create a detailed map of the lunar surface and analyze the moon's soil content, searching for 14 rare and valuable elements.
The craft will also make microwave images of the surface and seek to estimate its thickness.
Longer term, the Chang'e project will pave the way for a soft landing of a probe equipped with a rover in 2010-12, followed by a mission to retrieve rock samples in 2012-15.
China's government-controlled newspapers have frequently suggested the country's leaders would like to establish a manned "lunar outpost" in 2020 or 2030.
This week, Huang Chunping, China's senior space scientist, told reporters at the annual National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, "The goal to land an astronaut on the moon can surely be achieved in 15 years."
China's space program is normally swathed in secrecy. But this week the country's leaders decided to announce some of their accomplishments and ambitions during the NPC meetings. In addition to the launch of the lunar orbiter, these include China's third manned space flight --and its first "space walk" -- sometime next year.
That launch could coincide with China's hosting of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
China launched its first manned space flight in October, 2003, when it sent Taikonaut (Astronaut) Yang Li Wei around the world 14 times in his Shenzhou V space capsule before landing in Inner Mongolia.
The Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) is based roughly on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.
With that mission, China became only the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union to send a man into space.
China completed a second five-day manned flight with two taikonauts in October, 2005.
Beijing has long regarded its space program as offering a chance to prove its technological competence while scoring a propaganda victory and enhancing its prestige.
But other countries worry China's space ambitions may have a more sinister intent.
An annual Pentagon report on China's military might says the space program will result in China becoming a greater military threat.
"While one of the strongest immediate motivations for this program appears to be political prestige, China's efforts almost certainly will contribute to improved military space systems in the 2010-2020 time frame," the Pentagon report says.
China consistently denies having such military ambitions, insisting it advocates the peaceful development of space. But this year Beijing shocked the world when it destroyed one of its old weather satellites with a land-based rocket in an anti-satellite test.
Canada and several other nations complained, saying the anti-satellite test could trigger an arms race in space.
Some U.S. experts believe China already has developed plans for secret space weapons including ground-based lasers, air-to-space interceptors and an exotic plasma bomb that could destroy orbiting satellites with an electronic cloud.
In the past, Chinese military writers have suggested outer space will become the new high ground of modern combat and should be regarded as a special theatre of operations for the country's modernized armed forces.
China waited 12 days before it responded to intense diplomatic pressure and confirmed it had conducted an anti-satellite test in January.
At the time, Liu Jian Chao, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, declared China has "nothing to hide" and "it has consistently advocated the peaceful development of outer space and it opposes the arming of space and military competition in space."
For a photo gallery of China's space program, visit our homepage更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Chang'e 1: Lunar orbiting probe launch planned for April: Nationalpost.com
Peter Goodspeed
National Post
Friday, March 09, 2007
CREDIT: China Photos, Getty Images
The Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) VI spacecraft carried two astronauts on a five-day manned space flight around the Earth in October, 2005.
Rapidly emerging as a regional power in Asia with superpower ambitions, China has now set its sights on the moon.
Having astounded the world with two decades of double-digit economic growth, China's leaders this week announced they plan to launch their first lunar orbiting space probe in April and may be ready to land a man on the moon within 15 years.
The aggressive space program could see Chinese scientists stage at least 10 space launches this year alone, with the premier event this spring when Beijing takes the wraps off a three-year program to design and develop the Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter.
Named after a Chinese goddess who legend says was a beautiful fairy who stole a magic potion that caused her to float away to the moon, the orbiter has been on the drawing board for three years in a project employing some 10,000 scientists.
When it blasts off atop a Long March 3A rocket next month, the Chang'e 1 will be placed in orbit about 200 kilometres above the moon.
Over the next year it will create a detailed map of the lunar surface and analyze the moon's soil content, searching for 14 rare and valuable elements.
The craft will also make microwave images of the surface and seek to estimate its thickness.
Longer term, the Chang'e project will pave the way for a soft landing of a probe equipped with a rover in 2010-12, followed by a mission to retrieve rock samples in 2012-15.
China's government-controlled newspapers have frequently suggested the country's leaders would like to establish a manned "lunar outpost" in 2020 or 2030.
This week, Huang Chunping, China's senior space scientist, told reporters at the annual National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, "The goal to land an astronaut on the moon can surely be achieved in 15 years."
China's space program is normally swathed in secrecy. But this week the country's leaders decided to announce some of their accomplishments and ambitions during the NPC meetings. In addition to the launch of the lunar orbiter, these include China's third manned space flight --and its first "space walk" -- sometime next year.
That launch could coincide with China's hosting of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
China launched its first manned space flight in October, 2003, when it sent Taikonaut (Astronaut) Yang Li Wei around the world 14 times in his Shenzhou V space capsule before landing in Inner Mongolia.
The Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) is based roughly on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.
With that mission, China became only the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union to send a man into space.
China completed a second five-day manned flight with two taikonauts in October, 2005.
Beijing has long regarded its space program as offering a chance to prove its technological competence while scoring a propaganda victory and enhancing its prestige.
But other countries worry China's space ambitions may have a more sinister intent.
An annual Pentagon report on China's military might says the space program will result in China becoming a greater military threat.
"While one of the strongest immediate motivations for this program appears to be political prestige, China's efforts almost certainly will contribute to improved military space systems in the 2010-2020 time frame," the Pentagon report says.
China consistently denies having such military ambitions, insisting it advocates the peaceful development of space. But this year Beijing shocked the world when it destroyed one of its old weather satellites with a land-based rocket in an anti-satellite test.
Canada and several other nations complained, saying the anti-satellite test could trigger an arms race in space.
Some U.S. experts believe China already has developed plans for secret space weapons including ground-based lasers, air-to-space interceptors and an exotic plasma bomb that could destroy orbiting satellites with an electronic cloud.
In the past, Chinese military writers have suggested outer space will become the new high ground of modern combat and should be regarded as a special theatre of operations for the country's modernized armed forces.
China waited 12 days before it responded to intense diplomatic pressure and confirmed it had conducted an anti-satellite test in January.
At the time, Liu Jian Chao, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, declared China has "nothing to hide" and "it has consistently advocated the peaceful development of outer space and it opposes the arming of space and military competition in space."
For a photo gallery of China's space program, visit our homepage更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net