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Chinese Astronaut Makes It Back Safely

Posted by simoniker on from the collective-happiness-levels-high dept.

brindafella writes "SpaceDaily is reporting that China's historic first manned space mission has ended with the safe return of its first astronaut Lieutenant Colonel Yang Liwei, 38, who landed just before 6.30am Beijing time (2230 UTC 15/10) at the designated recovery zone north east of Beijing. The capsule has been recovered and opened and the pilot is very much alive, 'and doing autographs.' Furthermore, 'Premier Wen Jiabao was seen on television talking to Yang on the phone and smiling widely and clapping after he hung up.'"

2 of 540 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How fast will they move ahead? by isomeme · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It should be noted that US hardware for human space travel is also based on designs which are around three decades old (with some upgrades). Ditto Russian hardware.

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a skull.
  2. Re:How fast will they move ahead? by quacking+duck · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Slow but sustained development would be a terrific thing, unfortunately I think China's government is really only interested in the short term propaganda value, just like the US.

    This story suggests this isn't just a short-term propaganda project. The author's analysis of the systems involved, that they included a lot of equipment that you wouldn't bother with on a one-off design, suggest that they put a lot of thought behind the system and they're in this for the long haul.