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Chinese Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk
As_I_Please writes "At 8:40AM (GMT) this morning, Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang successfully spent 18 minutes in a tethered spacewalk outside the spacecraft Shenzhou 7. This is an important step in China's goal of building an orbiting space station and sending astronauts to the moon."
Forgive my skepticism, but this is exactly the sort of thing that China commonly lies about.
If true, it is a wonderous and stunning achievement, and they have my utpost respect and admiration.
However... again, this is exactly the sort of thing that China lies about.
Are there any sources of information on the validity of this that aren't controlled by the Chinese government, that verify their claims?
This announcement brought to you by the freedom-loving Chinese Press at 7:20am.
I wonder if the dialog amongst the spacemen was any different this time?
Congratulation!
I read about this last week on an English language Chinese news website.
This is an important step in China's goal of building an orbiting space station and sending astronauts to the moon
Yeah, right. You've got a couple more steps before you can move into the Moon Base, speedy.
Was that published before or after they left the spacecraft?
Why are all posts so anti-chinese?
I love democracy and I live in a liberal western democratic country (Sweden), but I do not at all understand why all posts have to be so negative.
Lets critisize china when they do something bad. When they do something good like this, lets congratulate them! This is a great step forward, not only for china, but for all of humankind.
I honestly believe that China will be the space super-power during the 21st century and the faster they get there the better for ALL OF US - EVEN AMERICANS!
So lets just cheer and celebrate this success! Congratulate the astronauts and engineers that made this possible. It is impressive and it is a fantastic work no matter if you are a russian, american or chinese.
I for one welcome our Chinese space walking overlords.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
Hopefully China will make a real push for space forcing the US to get off its arse in regard to the final frontier...
Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
...your local Walmart.
The point is that they are building their space program. You have to consider Asian, and especially East Asian thinking. They aren't like the west with its "profit immediately or forget about it" thinking. When I see China putting men into space (the third country to do so after Soviet Russia and then the USA) and now doing space walks, that means they already have a long term plan to set up semi-permanent if not permanent colonies in orbit or on other celestial bodies.
See, they are not in a space race. They are doing this for their more distant future. When they do something like this, they aren't thinking of the next quarter's profits or even the next year's. They are thinking in terms of the next generation or the generation after.
And, I applaud them for it. It is nice to see homo sapiens thinking long term about getting off this pale blue dot of ours, and not only thinking about it but taking active steps towards such a goal. I couldn't care less what language they are speaking or what country they are from. They are humans and they are making the effort that others seem to have given up on. Power to them.
"Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
A chinese astronaut is called ...
Since they like to make announcements of upcoming events as if they already occurred it's likely that they really mean that the the space walk is happening tomorrow.
China is sending men into space. We are scrapping our only way of getting into space. Talk about progress...
...tomorrow.
Hi! I'm just another ameritard and I agree with your rant.
It's CHINA! There are, like, a BILLION of them! They could get to the moon by standing on each others' shoulders!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/09/27/chinas-first-spacewalk-a-success-video/
"Zhai lifted himself through the hatch and waved at the camera attached to the service module on the outside of the craft, with Earth looming overhead."
"He then tried to take off the helmet for a 'nicer portrait shot'."
(After the implosion of his body, another astronaut from the 344 person manned spacecraft was sent to replace him.)
Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many.
Chinese astronaut Zhang Ziyi successfully spent 18 minutes in a tethered spacewalk outside the spacecraft Shenzhou 7.
My first thought, "that's pretty dangerous, in every movie she's been in, her clothes are ripped off suddenly and forcefully."
[
I'm an American and I'm better than you.
This is great for science. I welcome china to the space-exploration community and hope that we can all co-operate with each other to further understanding.
Riiiiight. Because putting melamine in milk powder and antifreeze in toothpaste isn't about immediate profits, it's a long-term strategy for building a trusted brand.
Support Right To Repair Legislation.
Check out the video
The cut to the long shot at the end with the guy clearly dangling from wires is hilarious! Like a bad pantomime.
. . . so I guess I won't have to stay up on election night waiting for the results . . .
That site will have them a week in advance . . . yoo-hoo!
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
I think it's something about announcing imminent danger and WMD's, with detailed descriptions and sworn statements, when they don't exist. Sending armies to make war under false pretenses, swearing that enormous threats exist even after zero evidence is found that they exist. Tragically, the list goes on and on.
At some point, distrust and skepticism becomes the norm.
Your point is well taken that all governments lie. Some governments lie a lot about things that then cause a lot of unnecessary death, misery and anguish for others.
Still, their people get to keep driving Hummers, so that makes it OK, right?
This is old, I read about it before it happened.
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."
-- Pablo Picasso
I'm Chinese. Guess what? Most people here have same attitude as world old empire: British and even old China empire. Failing but not realizing. I hope all of you hold this attitude. We'll have much better chance to success. so happy.
The Great Firewall of China is visible from space.
While they can make up whatever high goals -- to boost nationalism, to save the world, or whatever -- the entire execution is contingent on money and profits. China is a highly profit-driven place; a lot more than rich places. Companies have to see profits to do the tasks. And just like the U.S. and everywhere else in the world, China has to face the hurdle of creating job opportunities. Huge projects like these can save thousands jobs in their defunct state-owned factories. They also need to absorbs millions of college graduates every single year. Along the lines, officials also need to use these opportunities to take bribes to profit themselves.
That's exactly what happen in the U.S.: many companies need NASA projects for which they will hire thousands of people. Think about the scenario of laying off all the workers for the Shuttle program. Along the line, the politicians need to get donations.
So while pride and nationalism may play a role, these are largely about business and money.
While you are counting all that money don't forget that your factories are now all moving out of China to places like Vietnam where labor is cheaper...
Oh and seeing that the businesses that are designing, distributing, and purchasing all of the factory output are almost all foreign...
Hey! You aren't going to be part of the revenue stream anymore!!! I bet that the $5,000 per person in debt will go a long way when after the inflated wage structure crashes...
Yeah, but... is it for real?????
Zhai exited the spacecraft, moved around the rear of the spacecraft, and re-entered the hatch, yelling "FIRE DRILL"!
begin orbital bombardment in... 3... 2... oh shi-
In addition to proving China's ability to maneuver in space, the spacewalk showed that China can produce reliable and safe space equipment. During his space venture, Zhai wore a new Chinese-built spacesuit, dubbed Feitian (Chinese for "fly the sky").
The suit, which reportedly cost 30 million yuan (about $4.4 million), did its job protecting Zhai from the harsh temperatures and radiation of space. It has 10 layers of insulation, weighs about 265 pounds (120 kg), and takes up to 15 hours to assemble and put on, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
15 hours to assemble and put on, let's hope they don't need it in case of an emergency!
bash$
The Chinese deserve due credit for their achievements, in space. However, their government lacks any kind of credibility and that diminishes what has been accomplished.
It took them 40 years to catch up with the other superpowers in accomplishing this spacewalk, which should serve to amplify the effects of their oppressive regime and communist philosophy overall.
The Chinese news agency will fabricate whatever suits them, so any narrative going along with this accomplishment should be ignored. Their Olympics wowed us with their faked opening ceremony, underage athletes supported with government-supplied cover stories, biased judging and who knows what else that went undetected.
How much slave labor is used in their space program is unknown. How much stolen and misappropriated technology they've used is unknown. How many people that were sickened, injured or killed by the hazardous materials and working conditions prevalent in their space program is unknown. But we already know that the authoritarian state of China would forbid dissemination of this information, and we know that there's no reason to believe that these kinds of sufferings of their people have not ceased. This is what tempers our enthusiasm for their achievement.
from before the launch. We have no idea if they sent up live humans, let alone if the live humans come back. No doubt NORAD and the Naval Observatory can tell if they launched something, and get some pretty good pictures of it, but not evidence of crew or a successful landing.
While perusing the conspiracy theories from the murkiest part of the deep end, I came across these two items. . . Please don't mod them down just yet; these ones I don't buy into completely, (well, not completely) and I present them more in the form of an interesting sociological "Hmmm". (Have you ever tried cataloging this stuff?)
Okay. So two items. . .
1. The U.S. is the largest experimental society today; can you control an entire people through technology and brain washing rather than force? How is it done and what are the advantages, if any?
2. Regardless of the outcome, the idea is that all Semitic and Caucasian people are just not suitable for the New World. They'll make good fodder and they can be used to run the meat-grinder, but when all the dust settles and the blood is hosed off the streets, the preferred genetic strain is what we see to have been bred in China and countries of similar genetic stock. Why? Get ready for it, and this is where your mod-muscles will twitch: "The Asian gene type is more suitable for population control. They're more obedient."
Just think: there are people in positions of power who live by these kinds of ideas. I've met some of them.
Here's a riddle: "How many elitists does it take to put a whack-job conspiracy theory into practical application?"
Answer: "None. They create an economic reality where the peasantry must obey or starve and then hire them to do it on their behalf."
On a totally unrelated note, Fallout 3 is coming out this October.
-FL
China will hit the same ceiling as other Asian nations when they've exhausted the "low hanging fruit" objectives, with their space program.
That is, objectives which have been already achieved by the West and Russia, for which there exists technology that can be stolen and decades of experience that can be drawn from.
Nothing I've seen coming from China convinces me that they possess the capability or culture to nurture original research.
The early Renaissance was old hat to the ancient Romans. But the Europeans had to make that first step back to the level of technology and culture enjoyed by their ancestors, or they would have been stuck in the Dark Ages. Think of the Chinese space effort as a complement to the venture capital-funded new space economy of (mainly) the US. Most of the technology used by these small space companies are just mash-ups of old pre-Apollo technology. Yes, sometimes it's necessary to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes not just once, but many times over.
And because of how much China exports these corrupt business practices affect the health of people outside their borders.
I for one try, as much as possible, to avoid any products that come from China because I have no idea what I'm getting.
You know what. China is serving global demand. Global business demands profit at all and any cost. Consumers don't care who sewed their shirts, that those people despite working hard can't afford healthcare and education.
They say "don't care was made to care". Well the developed nations have sown the seed of their contempt for the humanity of the people of those manufacturing nations by not caring except about price. Now we're beginning to reap what we have sown.
You've all heard of companies using child/slave labour. Clothing manufacturers, computer makers. Much of the worlds chocolate supplies are tainted with slavery #1 ... none of these companies go out of business.
But now our constant drive for the bottom line is affecting the health of our home nations, now will we sit up and say no to globalised exploitation?
---
#1 about 50% of cocoa comes from West Africa (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali) where child slavery (abduction of children to work for no money) was considered widespread in 2001/2002. I have never seen any reports of a solution to this problem. See eg, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1963617.stm http://www.365act.com/actions/2.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/apr/19/globalisation.benstafford;
Other sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_exploitation_in_the_chocolate_industry particularly http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/24/news/international/chocolate_bittersweet.fortune/ (read that one if nothing else).
Wow
Just figured I'd comment that my post here has seen a heck of a ride.
Metamoderators, you paying attention?
There is film released in 2002, which was filmed on film, not digital, and talks about the girl in question could be a international start at age 10. The medias conveniently don't mention that.
Oh wait, nevermind. That was just the Chinese government posting it a day before it happened...
couldn't resist.....
Honestly, I gradually believe Chinese politic system is not very bad. See US can elect Bush, the liar, stupid ever person. See US critic always discussed chinese financial system is in dangerous. but the fact is not always like most so-call democratic oriented expected... it is time to wake up...
Let me guess, it was the Beijing Evening News, right?
In other news, the next manned mission is to rendezvous with an asteroid on track for a near collision with earth.
Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave.
I am seeing a lot of uninformed, and often racist, sentiment regarding this. Here are the facts.
1. This is not a Russian capsule. The three module shape is dictated by the principles of capsule design in general, not by China simply buying a set of blueprints
2. They are not moving that slowly, they are simply being economical with the number of missions they fly. It took Russia and the US 4 years to get from men in space to spacewalks, it has taken China 5 years.
3. Their spending money on this whilst there are *gasp* still poor people on China is not something that can be criticised from a country bailing out wall street whilst letting the poor rot. At least Chinese people will eventually benefit from space technology. Who will benefit from bankers being insulated from the consequences of their actions? Everywhere has inequality. No reason to crucify China specifically for it.
4. Shenzhou is the most technologically advanced manned spacecraft flying. The Shuttle has more capability but it is nearing the end of its life and when it retires, Americans better get used to play to second fiddle to China for a while.
5. Being racist makes you a dick. Chinese people are just as capable of this as you are.
If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we shoot people for Apollo-related non-sequiturs?
If it were true, China is just disclosing this information while they are setting up a military base on the moon... With tools that are "Made in China"
Here you go, shithead:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1063198/PETER-HITCHENS-How-China-created-new-slave-empire-Africa.html
This happened every day, all day. Let us know when you need more of you pig ignorance mitigated. Now back to playing video games, you dumb fuck.
I think it is significant and praise-worthy that the Chinese have reached this milestone and we can hope there are more in the future. Near-space is important to mankind to develop technology for future long distance missions to the planets and asteroids and for perhaps building power-sats for beamed power from orbit to earth and eventual elevators to reduce the cost of lifting mass from the surface to low orbit. We should encourage the Chinese and perhaps get them to join in the International Space Station project as well.
Well you see health care isn't a right, hells it's not even a privilege, it's a straight luxury. So is having your own bedroom, or even bed.While working a sweat shops sucks no one forces them to, it's just the best option available and consumers can't be held accountable for lack of better options. That doesn't include situations where better options are forbidden through slavery, legislation (like the chines "black" people), caste systems, or emigration restrictions which should be slapped down.
Every thing I have ever read about trade liberalization shows that it is pareto-efficient, that is, Both sides win. The US gets things cheaper and other countries get jobs that pay more then substance farming. If you mandate through legislation that the cost to use their labor goes up guess what happens? investment leaves. Thats not some crazy republican lie, thats fact and has happened several times. Mandating through law that you get paid more then your work is worth doesn't make it worth more. Many goods can be made in the states by low labor machines but it is cheaper to use low tech labor intensive processes over seas because labor is cheaper, if you increase the cost of their labor without increasing its value you have a problem.
The Japs knew this and spent considerable effort to create high value labor when they industrialized. The reason a western laborer gets more things like cars appliances and health care is because our labor is really valuable and it is cost effective to invest expensive medical treatment to double our productive lives or cars to allow more time savings.
I care very deeply for the poor in the sweet shops, and wish there was a way to help them out that didn't take self-determinism on their part and generations to accomplish. I just know that nothing comes free. They are screwed, and flawed socialist policy or heavy handed western intervention has always failed. sometimes the best thing to do with a painful wound is stop picking at it.
pretty much. I don't give a fuck about them. Why should I? They should be happy we didn't annihilate them. Now that it starts to affect us? yeah, now we should act
I wonder how much of this technology they got in return for Bill Clinton and Al Gore campaign contributions?!
Many goods can be made in the states by low labor machines but it is cheaper to use low tech labor intensive processes over seas because labor is cheaper, if you increase the cost of their labor without increasing its value you have a problem.
And you support that position?
Do you know what else is cheaper, harvesting organs and bloods from live subjects rather than waiting for donors or using synthetic replacements. The only difference is how quick you kill the people who are serving your needs.
I never said healthcare was a right but the compassion we share for fellow humans should be such that we feel bound to provide basic healthcare and education for low-paid workers.
If you mandate through legislation that the cost to use their labor goes up guess what happens?
That depends on how you meet the cost. Fairtrade chocolate and coffee are not appreciably more costly at the POS (I realise they're not representative crops), some are cheaper than "luxury brands". The difference is how much the shareholders make in profit. Your decision is whether you feel people need extra disposable income in the developed nations or if they need basic necessities in developing nations. Your vote is at whichever shops you use. Your argument was levelled in the UK about minimum wages, except when they came in no one really noticed ... 10% of city bonuses maybe?
They are screwed, and flawed socialist policy or heavy handed western intervention has always failed.
I guess that as I live in a house in dire need of maintenance but with scarcely enough money to feed and cloth us, despite working hard. I've suffered the position of medicine or food and I don't think "they are screwed" is a good enough response. They are screwed because of a) over-population, but importantly, b) greed and c) lack of active compassion. I don't think it's a done deal ...
China's a little late to that party.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMxQEHfU6hM Someone claims to have good eyes spotted something in the video