China successfully launched two 鈥渢aikonauts鈥� into orbit on Wednesday, marking the country鈥檚 second crewed foray into space. Observers say the milestone signals China鈥檚 commitment to a human spaceflight programme and raises the question of how other nations will react to the new space power.
The Shenzhou VI spacecraft blasted off on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in north-west China at 0900 local time (0100 GMT) and entered orbit 21 minutes later.
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On board were two former fighter pilots, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, whose names were released shortly before liftoff. Both had been candidates for China鈥檚 first crewed spaceflight in the Shenzhou V in October 2003. In the end, Yang Liwei was chosen to pilot that mission, which made China the third country after the US and the former Soviet Union to send a human into space.
The Shenzhou VI flight is scheduled for nearly five days 鈥� significantly longer than Yang鈥檚 21-hour trip. During the mission, the astronauts will leave the re-entry capsule they launched in and take up residence in the 9-cubic-metre orbital module at the front of the spacecraft, where they will shed their bulky space suits.
Exactly what they will do during the flight remains a mystery. Previous news stories had stated the mission would test the effects of space radiation on plant seeds and pig sperm, but in more recent reports space officials have denied those experiments will take place.
鈥淚 would guess they鈥檙e going to be doing some physical exercises, trying out the ergonomics of the spacecraft and focusing on space medicine-type things,鈥� says Dean Cheng, senior Asia analyst at the non-profit think tank CNA Corporation in Alexandria, Virginia, US.
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Whatever the itinerary, Cheng says the flight means there鈥檚 鈥渁nother player鈥� in the elite group of countries working on human spaceflight. 鈥淭he Chinese are saying Shenzhou V was not a flash in the pan 鈥� China intends to maintain a manned presence in space,鈥� he told New 杏吧原创.
Indeed, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao told the astronauts before the flight: 鈥淵ou will once again show that the Chinese people have the will, confidence and capability to mount scientific peaks ceaselessly.鈥�
China has spent about $2 billion on its human spaceflight programme. It says it is likely to send the first woman taikonaut into space in five years and ultimately plans to build its own space station.
That ambition will have ripple effects in other countries, says Cheng. 鈥淚 think you鈥檙e already seeing a space race in Asia,鈥� he says, citing plans by India and Japan to send orbiting spacecraft to study the moon. But he adds that it could also lead to greater cooperation between Asian nations. Malaysia plans to send astronauts into space and may consider collaborating with China to do so, he says.
Real competitor
The flight means China could become a 鈥渞eal competitor鈥� with the US in space, says Robert Walker, who led a presidential committee on the future of the US aerospace industry from 2001 to 2003.
鈥淎ny nation that aspires to compete with the US in space certainly represents a challenge commercially, economically and militarily,鈥� Walker told New 杏吧原创. 鈥淭hat challenge needs to be closely monitored and we need to make investments to assure we maintain our edge in space capabilities.鈥�
But John Logsdon, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University in Washington DC, US, emphasises that China鈥檚 official space plans do not call for the country to go beyond Earth鈥檚 orbit. He says the notion of a US-China space race shows a 鈥渄esperation to provide a rationale for the US programme鈥�.
鈥淎t some point the US is going to have to recognise China鈥檚 accomplishments and decide whether it wants to find ways of working together with China,鈥� Logsdon says. 鈥淎nd China has got to make that decision on its side, as well.鈥�
