China Takes Space Leap
Flag-waving astronaut performing China's first spacewalk is milestone in ambitious program
Just as the distant beep of Sputnik shook US confidence half a century ago, so China signaled a new space race yesterday when a flag-waving astronaut performed the nation's first spacewalk.
'I'm feeling quite well,' said Zhai Zhigang as he climbed out of the spacecraft. 'I greet the Chinese people and the people of the world.'
The mission commander, wearing a $4.4m Chinese-made suit weighing 120kg (265lb), floated out of the Shenzhou 7 ship's orbital module for about 13 minutes before climbing back inside and closing the hatch behind him. Fellow astronaut Liu Boming also emerged briefly to hand 41-year-old Zhai a Chinese flag that he waved for an exterior camera filming the event. The third crew member, Jing Haipeng, monitored the ship from inside the re-entry module.
Broadcast live on state television, the spacewalk was the latest milestone in an ambitious space program that could one day rival past American and Russian missions in its rapid expansion. The next goal is to assemble a space station from two Shenzhou orbital modules.
China is also pursuing lunar exploration and may attempt to land a man on the Moon in the next decade, ahead of Nasa's 2020 target date for the return.
'I'm feeling quite well,' said Zhai Zhigang as he climbed out of the spacecraft. 'I greet the Chinese people and the people of the world.'
The mission commander, wearing a $4.4m Chinese-made suit weighing 120kg (265lb), floated out of the Shenzhou 7 ship's orbital module for about 13 minutes before climbing back inside and closing the hatch behind him. Fellow astronaut Liu Boming also emerged briefly to hand 41-year-old Zhai a Chinese flag that he waved for an exterior camera filming the event. The third crew member, Jing Haipeng, monitored the ship from inside the re-entry module.
Broadcast live on state television, the spacewalk was the latest milestone in an ambitious space program that could one day rival past American and Russian missions in its rapid expansion. The next goal is to assemble a space station from two Shenzhou orbital modules.
China is also pursuing lunar exploration and may attempt to land a man on the Moon in the next decade, ahead of Nasa's 2020 target date for the return.
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