Jan 5 2003
From The Space Library
A reentry section of the People's Republic of China's Shenzhou 4 spacecraft landed in Inner Mongolia after Shenzhou 4 had orbited Earth for nearly a week. Phillip Clark, a U.K. observer of China's space program, remarked that the Shenzhou 4 mission was key to flying Chinese astronauts in the future, noting that orbital control of the craft during this flight had been far tighter than in the two preceding tests. Furthermore, during two back-to-back Shenzhou launches, the Chinese had completed all the maneuvers necessary for a rendezvous and docking mission, indicating that China would progress quickly to an orbital docking. Clark predicted that either Shenzhou 7 or Shenzhou 8 would complete a nose-to-nose docking. (Leonard David, “After Shenzhou~ China's Space Plans Boosted Following Successful Mission,” Space.com, 5 January 2003, http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/after_shenzhou4_030105.html (accessed 28 July 2008).
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