Oct 12 2005
From The Space Library
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched its second piloted spacecraft, the Shenzhou 6, on a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan, China, at 1:00 a.m. (GMT). The Shenzhou 6 carried taikonauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng. The CNSA planned for them to remain in low Earth orbit for five days. The CNSA provided few details about the mission and declined to publicize information, such as the taikonauts' names and the spacecraft's scheduled return date, until hours before the launch. According to a CNSA spokesperson, Junlong and Haisheng would conduct scientific experiments while in orbit. (Howard W. French, “On Live Television, 2 Chinese Astronauts Begin 5 Days in Low Orbit of Earth,” New York Times, 12 October 2005; China National Space Administration, “Shenzhou-6 To Take Off Wednesday Morning,” news release, 11 October 2005.)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
