. | . |
China's First Ever Space Textbook Published
Beijing, China (XNA) Nov 20, 2006 The formerly classified manuscript written by the father of China's space and missile industry has been published. Qian Xuesen's manuscript entitled "A General Introduction to the Missile" hit the shelves in Beijing on Friday, 50 years after Qian first used it to teach 156 university students, China's first generation of space scientists. "The manuscript was China's first textbook on space and missiles but it was defined as a classified document in 1956," said Shi Lei, vice president of the China Astronautic Publishing House, the book's publisher. "Although the content of 'A General Introduction to Missile' was passed on by word of mouth between different generations of Chinese space scientists, few people ever saw the manuscript," Shi said. "The publishing of the book marks the 50th anniversary of China's space industry and the 95th anniversary of Qian's birth," he said. Born in 1911 in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, Qian Xuesen, or Tsien Hsue-sen, left for the United States after winning a scholarship in 1936. He earned a doctorate and became a professor at the California Institute of Technology. In October 1955, Qian and his family returned to Beijing. He led the development of China's first nuclear-armed ballistic missiles and worked on its first satellite, launched in 1970. Qian retired in 1991. His research formed the basis for the Long March CZ-2F rocket that carried China's astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit. An autographed copy by Qian was given to the National Museum of China.
Source: Xinhua News Agency Related Links Read More About the Chinese Space Program
Steppin' Out From Shenzhou Geelong, Australia (SPX) Nov 08, 2006 China is drawing closer to staging its first spacewalk from a Shenzhou spacecraft. Details of the Shenzhou 7 mission, planned for late 2008, have been emerging slowly for months through a trickle of Chinese media reports. But the recent Zhuhai Air Show in China has revealed a few more details, even if this disclosure was more indirect than official. A graphic illustration showing China's first spacewalk taking place can be dissected for clues. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |