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A Sound Basis for Future Space Exploration

China’s second manned spaceflight ended successfully at 4:33 a.m. on October 17 after a five-day flight following its blast off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Inner Mongolia on October 9.

Compared with the first Chinese manned flight of astronaut Yang Liwei in 2003, the Shenzhou VI flight of Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng was a great leap forward in many ways. The basic launch module technology of Shenzhou V and VI is identical, but experts have reported about 100 novelties, including a food heater, dishware and a space toilet that were used for the first time, according to Xinhua News Agency. Sleeping bags and a new data recorder (a spacecraft “black box”) were also tested. The black box used was faster than the one used on Shenzhou V and contained more storage space, but at only half the size.

When Yang spent 21 hours orbiting the Earth 14 times in the Shenzhou V, he did not leave his seat. But, astronauts Fei and Nie were much busier than Yang, including leaving their re-entry capsule, entering the flight’s orbital capsule, shedding their bulky suits and donning ordinary work clothes so they could move about more easily. Nie was the first Chinese ever to spend a birthday in space.

Before its landing, Shenzhou-VI had orbited the Earth once every 90 minutes for 76 orbits, at a speed of 7.9 kilometres per second, 343 kilometres above the Earth. It travelled more than 1.9 million miles.

China has had a rocketry programme since the 1950s and launched its first satellite into orbit in 1970. The manned space programme was inaugurated in 1992. The first manned space mission in 2003 made China the third country to put human into space following Russia and the United States.

Mark Lee, a renowned Chinese-American space expert, called the Shenzhou-VI mission "a major step forward" in China's ambition of building a space station and probing the moon."

According to the China Daily, China's next manned mission, including a spacewalk, will take place in 2007 and will be followed by the establishment of an orbiting space station.