Completion of the Shen Zhou 4 mission has cleared the way for China to attempt its first manned spaceflight later this year. The unmanned Shen Zhou 4 re-entry capsule landed on 5 January in snow-covered Inner Mongolia after a seven-day, 108-orbit mission launched from Jiuquan on 29 December.
The commander of Shen Zhou 5, which is expected to fly in the third quarter, has been named as Chen Long, one of 14 air force astronauts, or "taikonauts". It had been assumed the craft would have a crew of two, but Chen is described as having a "back-up pilot", rather than aco-pilot.
The Shen Zhou 4 spacecraft was configured for a crewed flight and operated 52 experiments. The orbit of the manoeuvrable orbital module has been raised and the spacecraft is expected to remain in space on a science mission for six months beforere-entering the atmosphere.
Drills in back-up emergency landings were conducted during the mission, as well as a sea-based emergency rescue simulation. Astronaut crews also practised working inside the Shen Zhou 4 and performed emergency evacuation simulations before the launch.
China has spent $2.3 billion since 1992 on its manned space programme, which has included three previous orbital and recovery flight tests. The mid-term plan is to establish a mini-space station, or "skylab", by docking two Shen Zhou craft together, as a step towards an independent space station. China also has plans for a lunar fly-by using the craft.
The Shen Zhou consists of a service module, crew cabin and orbital module and resembles the Russian Soyuz. The Shen Zhou's Long March 2F booster has been upgraded to 99% design reliability with redundant systems, malfunction diagnostics and a crew launch-escape rocket.
Source: Flight International
