Three astronauts who conducted China’s first-ever space walk landed safely back on Chinese soil yesterday, state media reported.
The descent capsule of the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft was seen drifting down onto a landing in Inner Mongolia in footage broadcast live on state-run China Central TV.
All three men were all in good health after the landing on the region’s open plains, Xinhua news agency said.
PHOTO: AP/XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
Earlier, photos of a flag-waving astronaut floating in space had been splashed across the front pages of state-run newspapers yesterday as China celebrated its first-ever space walk.
Led by mission commander Zhai Zhigang (翟志剛), the manned space flight was launched on Thursday and was expected to return yesterday afternoon.
Saturday’s space walk, which was broadcast live and watched by crowds gathered around outdoor TV screens, further stoked national pride one month after the close of the Beijing Olympics.
“A small step by Zhai Zhigang in space is a big step in the history of the Chinese nation,” said a commentary by Xinhua carried by the Beijing Daily newspaper.
“This historical step shows the ample strengths that have been accumulated since the reform and opening up,” the article said, referring to when China embarked on free-market reforms almost 30 years ago.
On most newspaper front pages were pictures of Zhai clutching a Chinese flag as he hovered in space outside the Shenzhou 7 vessel, alongside photos of Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on a telephone as he spoke to the astronauts.
“The first Chinese footprint has been left in the vast outer space” proclaimed the China Youth Daily.
Yesterday’s midday newscast by state broadcaster China Central Television replayed video footage of the spacewalk and showed crowds applauding in schools, shops and on streets across the country.
State media’s coverage reflected much of the glory onto Hu, who was present at the launch and watched the spacewalk at Beijing’s ground control center.
“Your success represents a new breakthrough in our manned space program,” Hu told the astronauts in a scripted exchange that was also broadcast live.
“The motherland and the people thank you,” said Hu, who chairs the Chinese Communist Party and government military committees that oversee the space program.
The spacewalk was mainly aimed at testing China’s mastery of the technology involved.
Zhai’s sole task was to retrieve a rack attached to the outside of the orbital module containing an experiment involving solid lubricants.
Tethered to handles attached to the Shenzhou 7 ship’s orbital module, Zhai remained outside for about 13 minutes before climbing back inside.
“Greetings to all the people of the nation and all the people of the world,” Zhai, facing an external camera, said as he floated halfway out of the open hatch.
Fellow astronaut Liu Boming (劉伯明) also emerged briefly from the capsule to hand Zhai a Chinese flag. The third crew member, Jing Haipeng (景海鵬), monitored the ship from inside the re-entry module.
While successful, the spacewalk wasn’t without its anxious moments.
Zhai, a 41-year-old fighter pilot, appeared to struggle with the hatch and a fire alarm was triggered in the orbiter as he began the spacewalk.
Wang Zhaoyao (王兆耀), deputy director of manned space flight, conceded that the combined effects of weightlessness and depressurization on the hatch opening operation hadn’t been fully anticipated. He blamed a faulty sensor for the fire alarm.
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