Shenzhou craft ready for mass production

(China Daily/Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-29 08:17

Scientists monitor the Shenzhou VII spacecraft at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Friday. [Xinhua]

China will begin mass production of its Shenzhou spacecraft soon, scientists said.

After seven successful flights, the spacecraft is expected to be finalized starting from the next craft - Shenzhou VIII - Zhang Bainan, chief designer of the spacecraft system of China's manned space program, was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying on Friday.

The final model will be mass-produced and serve as a shuttle between China's space station and the ground. It may also transport astronauts and cargo for other countries, he said.

The ground test of the prototype of the Shenzhou VIII spacecraft is under way, he said, adding that a raft of ground tests and the seven successful outer space missions from Shenzhou I to Shenzhou VII have laid "solid technical foundation" for the final design.

The previous Shenzhou spacecraft have been under continuous modification and improvement, Qin Wenbo, deputy commander of the spacecraft system, told CCTV on Saturday.

After Shenzhou VI blasted off Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng into outer space in 2005, the two astronauts, together with Yang Liwei, proposed many changes to the spacecraft's design.

The upgraded Shenzhou VII that returned to ground yesterday, for instance, had more than 220 alterations, big or small, based on Shenzhou VI, he said.

Zhang said the scientists have been "very open-minded" in absorbing inputs from all fields concerned for better design and function.

The final model would look roughly the same as the current one in use, but the interiors would be much more comfortable, he added.

He revealed that the final model, largely developed indigenously, should be safer, more reliable and able to support three astronauts to fly for seven days and complete the task of space station docking.

"Mass production would also allow intensive launch in a short period," he said.

Apart from finalizing the model of China's manned spaceship, another mission of the Shenzhou VIII would be to seek a breakthrough in the orbiter docking technology, a necessary step for the ultimate goal of building a permanent space laboratory and a space engineering system that will allow astronauts to conduct scientific experiments on a larger scale.

Meanwhile, the design of China's next-generation launch vehicle for heavyweight satellites or space stations - the Long March 5 launch vehicle - will move to a new stage in October, a rocket system expert said.

The prototype of the new rocket has been produced, said Wang Qi, a commander with the Long March 2-F system.

The new rocket is scheduled to make the maiden flight in 2014 from Wenchang of Hainan province to test the design, with no manned spacecraft involved, she said.