A senior Chinese space program official said in Beijing on
Wednesday that development of the Shenzhou VII manned spacecraft
was proceeding smoothly, but declined to give a timetable for its
launch.
"The Shenzhou VII project is going smoothly. The next step of
the manned spaceflight program involves allowing the taikonaut to
exit the spacecraft and docking the craft with another target
object," said Sun Laiyan, head of China National Space
Administration, in an interview at www.gov.cn, a Chinese central
government website that covers the application of military
technology for civilian use.
He said the taikonaut will walk out of the spacecraft wearing a
space suit and that the technology is complex with high risks.
"We do have a timetable for the manned spaceflight program, but
our foremost concern is safety and reliability," said Sun, who is
also deputy head of the Commission of Science Technology and
Industry for National Defense.
"We will announce the timetable on this website when we believe
the time is ripe and conditions are mature," he said.
He did not rule out the possibility of sending female
taikonauts, female scientists, engineers and even philosophers into
space in the future.
"A space flight will help philosophers develop new philosophic
views. That's good for human society," said Sun.
China successfully launched its Shenzhou VI spacecraft carrying
two taikonauts into space on Oct. 12, 2005. It returned to earth
safely after 115 hours and 32 minutes of flight.
Previous news reports predicted the Shenzhou VII would be
launched around 2007 and space docking would take place between
2009 and 2012.
(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2006)