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Eric Mc
Original Poster
67,253 posts
134 months
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Looks like China is preparing to launch a three man crew to dock with their space station this weekend.
There are a number of "firsts" connected with this mission -
First Chinese three man crew
First female crew member
First manned docking with their space station
The Chinese are marching on.
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nellyleelephant
1,780 posts
103 months
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If you were to go back in time 40 years and suggest that this was a possibility, you'd been laughed out of town.
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davepoth
19,862 posts
68 months
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nellyleelephant said: If you were to go back in time 40 years and suggest that this was a possibility, you'd been laughed out of town. Probably not. They had a manned space program back then, if Wikipedia is to be believed. It was cancelled after Mao Zedong's death. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_space_program
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MartG
2,704 posts
73 months
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RegMolehusband
2,418 posts
126 months
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RegMolehusband
2,418 posts
126 months
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15 minutes. The webcam into the capsule is good.
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jmorgan
17,002 posts
153 months
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Missed it (looking at the BBC news site).
Hope they manage this. Between private enterprise and China then?
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Bedazzled
4,041 posts
90 months
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The footage on the BBC news website is superb. Good luck to them! I'd love to see this ignite a new space race.
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Bedazzled
4,041 posts
90 months
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They don't seem to have many switches/buttons to hand, is the whole flight automated? 
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speedtwelve
2,507 posts
142 months
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The hatch is obscuring the instrument panel in the pic. Shenzhou has large colour flatscreen displays in front of the crew.
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Eric Mc
Original Poster
67,253 posts
134 months
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Missed it then. Hope all went well.
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Eric Mc
Original Poster
67,253 posts
134 months
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Following progress on various websites.
They docked with the mini-space station yesterday and all three crew transferred over. This is the first time since the demise of Mir that we have had two manned space stations in orbit at the same time.
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jmorgan
17,002 posts
153 months
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Will they wave or bare bums out the portholes?
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speedtwelve
2,507 posts
142 months
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jmorgan said: Will they wave or bare bums out the portholes? "That's no moon. It's a space station".
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Eric Mc
Original Poster
67,253 posts
134 months
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speedtwelve said: jmorgan said: Will they wave or bare bums out the portholes? "That's no moon. It's a space station". Dobn't suppose they'll pass anywhere near each other. The orbital inclinations are quite different.
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scubadude
948 posts
66 months
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Eric Mc said: Dobn't suppose they'll pass anywhere near each other. The orbital inclinations are quite different. No but they have a smokey old scooter to bring the takeaway round after the Yanks order one, if they take longer than 15minutes its free though.
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jmorgan
17,002 posts
153 months
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speedtwelve said: jmorgan said: Will they wave or bare bums out the portholes? "That's no moon. It's a space station". 
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Eric Mc
Original Poster
67,253 posts
134 months
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Laugh at the Chinese at your peril.
They mean business in space.
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Simpo Two
54,187 posts
134 months
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It makes sense. The Chinese hoover all the money out of the West by selling them cheap goods, then build space rockets with the proceeds.
The only bit I don't see is who takes over when China gets fat and bankrupt like the West. Will we be back to a mediaeval subsistence society, bashing out bits of metal for 1p and selling them to the next superpower?
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jmorgan
17,002 posts
153 months
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I wasn't laughing at the Chinese, the situation of two nations that still view each other with suspicion and the opportunities presented for a titter.
They have intent and the means.
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