China performs its first spacewalk

[Coventina]

Source: L.A. Times

BEIJING -- A Chinese astronaut stepped outside the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft Saturday and waved a small red Chinese flag for the millions of his countrymen watching on live television and cheering over their nation's latest conquest.

With the 15-minute spacewalk, China became the third country to accomplish the feat, following the United States and Russia.

"In the vast space, I felt proud of our motherland," astronaut Zhai Zhigang later told Chinese President Hu Jintao, who was at the control center in Beijing. Hu peppered him with questions about how it felt to be in space, and thanked him for a major breakthrough.

During the spacewalk, the tethered Zhai floated near the spacecraft and performed tests on lubricants. But the event seemed to be as much about public relations as science.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-spacewalk28-2008sep28,0,7779439.story

[izquierdista]

1. A likely story

More likely the astronaut had to go out and hang his head out the window and blow chunks due to all the melamine in his food. :puke:

[David__77]

2. Congratulations to China's people!

It's a proud moment for China. I'm so happy to see them emerging from centuries of humiliation.

[WriteDown]

3. Centuries of humiliation?

Like all those dynasties?

[David__77]

5. Like the unequal treaties and Opium wars.

Chinese people are well aware of their own history.

[WriteDown]

6. whose unequal treatment?

like the current government treats its peasants. Under Mao? Under one of the emperors? Just being clear here.

[ohio2007]

12. China has never been the same since they sent their Imperial fleets off to give away

treasures to a willing consumer market of traders


http://mondediplo.com/2005/09/18zhenghe

[Historic NY]

4. Its amazing to see other space programs flourishing but ours.....

is stuck in neutral. NASA seemingly is barely able to tread water. The Rover Missions were exciting but manned space flight just isn't the "right Stuff" any more. We are 30 yrs behind where we should be in the shuttle which is now being phased out. The Republican conservative approach to NASA like the rest of the agenda seems to have stifled development. We haven't seen new exciting products brought to the market place as a direct result of our space programs.

[WriteDown]

7. Uh...

The various Mars Rover missions are amazing. Manned flight is unnecessary for many, many reasons. The shuttle should be eliminated from the program completely.

Uh....DireTV, MRI's, ear thermometers, Fire fighter suits, computer design models for things such as modern cars, cordless drills, 2 spoke bicycle wheel, thermal gloves and boots, failsafe flashlight(kind you shake), invisible braces, pretty much all your advanced plastics......sigh.

[Historic NY]

8. I'm talking about manned missions.......as for products

What Chinese company that makes the stuff for US says its from NASA?

[WriteDown]

9. Why do you support manned missions?

Great for pep rallies, but scientifically they are much less fruitful. Huh? I'm talking about inventions that our space program has given us recently.

[dougkeenan]

10. Why manned missions?

Because it's not all about science. What science did the taikonauts learn on their fifteen minute EVA? (How to say "diddly" in Chinese?)

People explore, it's in our nature. Our machines only help.

[ohio2007]

11. That white elephant space shuttle won't die soon enough

It should be handed over to the private sector.
Streamline it,make it efficient,redesign the whole program. That space truck plan was the biggest bust in NASA's history.
They promised after the first year of the program, the space truck would dispatch one shuttle flight every 10 days...

yeah.

send it to the bone yard already.
unmanned probes are a better use since the space station" baby steps to the moon" approach is in its fourth decade already ?

We gave the Chinese the rocket technology in the 90's. They better be ready, willing and able to trail blaze a better way.
jmo

[daleo]

13. A 700 billion taxpayer bailout of Wall Street

Won't leave a lot of discretionary money for space exploration, I should think.

This is how empires fall - overextended military commitments and corruption in public and private finance.

[Vidar]

14. I'm just glad that some one is still exploring "the final frontier".