Newsgroup: it.cultura.storia.militare
Titolo: Nei prossimi 2 mesi il primo volo spaziale pilotato cinese.

Mi domando perchè l'Europa non abbia mai mandato nello spazio astronauti con
i propri mezzi accontentandosi di farsi scorazzare dagli americani. Il bello
è che se non fosse stato per la Grandeur francese attualmente l'Europa non
avrebbe neppure vettori civili degni di nota...
WAITING IN THE WINGS
By N. Gopal Raj
WITHIN THE next month or two, a young Chinese Air Force pilot will write his
name in the history books and become his country's hero. Four decades after
Yuri Gagarin became the first human to venture into the new frontier, China
is on the verge of becoming the third nation, after Russia and the United
States, to have the independent capability for manned spaceflight.
China is revealing little about its first manned mission. A recent press
report said that the Chang Zheng (Long March) 2F rocket had arrived at the
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre and that the integration of the Shen Zhou
(meaning "divine vessel") spacecraft with the launcher had begun. The launch
is expected to take place some time in October or November, with October 10
being mentioned in one report as a possible launch date. An October launch
would have particular political significance in China, as it would come soon
after the annual celebrations to mark the Communist Revolution. China has
been just as reticent about its corps of "yuhang yuan" ( space traveller').
From reports in Chinese newspapers and remarks by Chinese space officials,
it appears that this elite group of 14 fighter pilots has been carefully
selected from over 2000 candidates. Elaborate measures have been taken to
prevent their identities from becoming known and they have been trained in a
closely guarded area at the Beijing Aerospace City. At least two of them
have trained in Russia in the early 1990s.
But this is no man-in-a-can' effort merely to demonstrate that China too can
safely send a human being into space. The Chinese decided that the primary
thrust of their manned space programme during the first decade or so would
be the development of a space station, says Phillip Clark, a British expert
on the Chinese space programme. Since both the Soviets/Russians and the U.S.
had space station experience, the Chinese decided to see what these other
countries had done. They found that Soyuz had been a successful space
station ferry since April 1971. "So rather than completely re-invent the
wheel, they took the basic Soyuz design from the Russians and then modified
it for their own needs," Mr. Clark told The Hindu . The Shen Zhou will also
give China the capability to consider manned missions to the moon. The
Soyuz, after all, was originally conceived as part of the Soviet Union's
effort to beat the Americans to the moon. The next set of footprints on the
moon may well be that of the Chinese, says Mr. Clark, but adds that it may
not happen till 2020 or so.
The Chinese interest in manned spaceflight appears to be long-standing. In
the 1960s, the Chinese used their T-7A sounding rockets to launch biological
cargo, including rats, mice, flies and even dogs. Then, in 1975, China
successfully launched and recovered its first Fanhui Shi Weixing (FSW)
spacecraft. These satellites were intended for photoreconnaissance, using
photographic film, which had to be returned to earth for processing. As
these satellites were therefore designed for re-entry to earth, there was
speculation that they could become the basis for a manned capsule. So when
the Chinese published photographs of men dressed in pressure-suits using
space simulators and eating what might be food prepared for use in space,
the belief grew that China had embarked on a manned spaceflight programme.
As it later turned out, this view was not wholly incorrect. The Chinese, who
began developing the FSW satellites in the mid-1960s, did actually embark on
a project to develop a manned capsule. The FSW satellites were themselves
too small to carry even one astronaut. But the Shu Guang spacecraft were
supposed to share the FSW technology. In 1971, 19 astronaut-candidates were
selected from among the best of China's Air Force pilots, with the first
manned launch scheduled just two years later. But in the turmoil of the
Cultural Revolution, the project was poorly supported and was closed down a
year later.
There are practical problems in the Shu Guang being modelled on the FSW and
there is little technical information available about the Shu Guang
spacecraft, says Mr. Clark. But the Chinese have used the FSW to launch and
bring back a variety of biological specimens, including guinea pigs, for
microgravity experiments. Press reports and articles in aerospace journals
suggest that the Chinese space agencies continued preparatory work for a
manned spaceflight, including establishing facilities for training
astronauts. The Biomedical Institute in Beijing is said to have developed a
space suit.
Then, in 1992, the Chinese Government authorised "Project 921," a
comprehensive manned spaceflight programme. Elements of the programme
included development of the Shen Zhou-manned spacecraft, upgradation of the
CZ-2E launcher to the man-rated CZ-2F version, establishment of ground
facilities and astronaut training. In 1996, the Russians announced that two
Chinese, Li Tsinlung and Wu Tse, had arrived for a year's astronaut training
in commercial deal. It will be interesting to see if one of the two becomes
China's first yuhang yuan in space. Contrary to some Western reports that
China bought a complete Soyuz spacecraft and copied it for their Shen Zhou,
Mr. Clark says that the Chinese purchased only some individual items from
the Russians. These items, purchased in the mid-1990s, were a Soyuz
life-support system, a docking unit, a Soyuz descent module (with all the
equipment stripped out) and a Soyuz pressure suit of the type used at launch
and landing. Only one of each item was purchased. "The Chinese wanted to see
how the Russians had solved various problems and then incorporate those
solutions into their design,'' according to him.
The general concept, arrangement of systems, and aerodynamics of Shen Zhou
is based on the Soyuz, says Mark Wade, a space analyst who runs the space
reference website, Encyclopedia Astronautica . But the Shen Zhou is
dimensionally different and its every aspect differs in detail from Soyuz.
The Chinese have had 25 years of independent spacecraft development
experience prior to Shen Zhou, plus access to a lot of the latest Western
satellite technology, he points out. Like the Soyuz, the Shen Zhou has three
separate modules. Right in front is the orbital module, which can hold
experiments and provides the living space for astronauts while in orbit. In
the Soyuz, the orbital module is just a sphere which re-enters and burns up
in the atmosphere soon after its occupants return to earth. But in the Shen
Zhou, it is larger and more cylindrical, with its own solar panels to
provide power and propulsion systems for independent manoeuvring. In the
last three Shen Zhou launches, the orbital modules have carried out such
manoeuvres and remained in the orbit for up to an additional six months.
Behind the orbital module is the re-entry capsule which can seat three
astronauts at lift-off and during re-entry. The re-entry capsule is bigger
than that of the Soyuz and uses different materials too, says Mr. Wade. As
with the Russians, the re-entry capsule is intended to come down on land,
using parachutes and retro-rockets for the final stages of the descent. At
the rear of the Shen Zhou is the service module, with instrumentation,
another set of solar panels and the spacecraft's main propulsion system. The
service module is bigger than the Soyuz equivalent and is equipped with
Chinese systems. "I think the reason that they (the Chinese) followed the
Soyuz idea is that it is a good and proven design, fits their Long March 2
rocket well and gives them the capability they need to supply a space
station," says Brian Harvey, author of a book about the Chinese space
programme.
With four unmanned Shen Zhou launches successfully completed between 1999
and early this year, the Shen Zhou 5 is ready for China's first manned
mission. "The next priorities would be a longer flight, spacewalking,
docking (like Soyuz 4/5 in 1969) and then bringing a crew up to a space
laboratory," says Mr. Harvey. The Chinese have said they would fly a small
space laboratory of 14 tonnes, using the Long March 2EA, before going on to
a Salyut-class space station of 20 tonnes when the Long March 5 becomes
available, he points out. Even without a manned lunar mission, the Chinese
would have enough on their hands for the next decade or more, according to
Mr. Clark.
In recent years, the U.S. has often regarded the Chinese space programme
with suspicion and hostility. What would their reaction be to a manned
Chinese launch? Another Kennedy-like space race? "Mainly boredom," says John
Pike, a U.S. space analyst and non-proliferation expert. China, he says, is
now doing what the U.S. did four decades ago. "There will be some effort to
spur a space race with China, but it will not arouse much passion."

been just as reticent about its corps of "yuhang yuan" ( space traveller').
...si accettano scommesse...


Beh c'e' un prototipo di mini-shuttle, che andrebbe sull'Arianne 5, usando
il vettore come propulsore e poi operando in orbita come gli shuttle
classici. mi sembra che addirittura avesse le capacità di manovra simili
alle navette russe (Ex-Sovietiche), leggermente migliori degli Shuttle
Statunitensi.
Peccato che attualmente le flotte spaziali siano penose e antiche. Non siamo
enanche più in grado di atterrare sulla luna eppure  siamo andati vanti un
bel pò da quegli anni. :(
Ma è stato tutto lasciato in sospeso.

 andati vanti un bel pò da quegli anni. :(
Questione di costi e ricavi, il programma Apollo e' costato un botto e ora a
che servirebbe andare sulla Luna? o ci vai per restare oppure fanne a meno
che non ha piu' niente da dirci quel sasso. Adesso casomai il traguardo e'
Marte.
Francamente anche mandare uomini nello spazio non serve a un tubo se non
fanno esperimenti utili, spedirli a fare un giretto tanto per e' solo uno
spreco di soldi non avendo piu' nemmeno un valore simbolico o di sfida,
sovietici e americani l'hanno gia' fatto decenni fa, bisognerebbe allora
inventare qualcosa che rivoluzioni i viaggi nello spazio rendendoli molto
piu' facili ed economici
-- 
Halman


Beh la Luna ... Elio 3.
Senza consdierare come starebbero da dio telescopi e radiotelescopi li
sopra. Da diO!
Beh certo dovrebbero avere delle belle corazze, dato i micrometeoriti che
ogni tanto apssano. perņ su, sarebbero molto utili.
Personalmente sono un sostenitore della robotica, come lo era Von Braun, per
le esplorazioni .
Mandiamo sonde su sonde, costano meno di grossi vascelli con persone a
bordo.

 bordo.
Ottima idea
-- 
Halman

 il vettore come propulsore e poi operando in orbita come gli shuttle
C'era (l'Hermes, in realtà l'Ariane 5 era stato progettato proprio per lui),
ma è stato accantonato per motivi di costi da anni. C'era anche un progetto
tedesco per un Saenger, un astroplano portato in quota da un areoplano più
grande, da un'idea di un ingegnere che lavorava per la Luftwaffe, manco a
dirlo, anche questo accantonato per motivi di costi. Consoliamoci col Mars
Express e la SMART-1 una missione lunare prossima al lancio..