Women prepare for space odyssey
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Shanghai Daily, September 28, 2011
There may soon be human versions of China's goddess of the moon when the country sends female astronauts into the heavens in its space -module Tiangong 2.
Female astronauts are likely to join male counterparts to make the historic journey on Tiangong 2 - "Heavenly Palace" - which is scheduled to blast off in 2016, Xu Kejun, chief designer of China's manned satellite launch center, told Xinmin Evening News yesterday.
The country plans to launch two modules, Tiangong 2 and Tiangong 3, probably both manned, to complete an orbital laboratory that will be a step on the way to building a space station around 2020.
China is set to begin the project with the launch of the unmanned Tiangong 1 tomorrow evening.
Two female astronauts will be at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center to observe the launch of the 8.5-ton Tiangong 1, the newspaper said.
Xu said: "Watching the launch of a space module is an important part of training for the astronauts. Every time they come to the launch center, they will get to know the process and the atmosphere there when the module takes off.
"It is like watching a football game right inside the stadium rather than in front of the TV at home."
The two female astronauts, both well-educated, married women around the age of 30, were chosen to join five men in the country's second batch of astronauts in May last year.
The two were previously air freighter pilots and are now undergoing a three-year astronaut training program.
They had originally been expected to board the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft, which is expected to take off next year. However, their training may not be completed by then, according to the report.
Xu said married pilots were preferred for astronaut training as they are considered more emotionally stable.
He said scientifically speaking, women are said to be tolerant and detailed in their work, which suits them to a job in space.
After the launch of Tiangong 1, Chinese space technicians face another big test when the craft attempts to rendezvous with the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft planned for launch in November.
Both Tiangong 1 and Shenzhou 8 will carry cameras to record the launch and broadcast live to the country's 1.3 billion people.
If the launch of Shenzhou 8 goes well, China will launch Shenzhou 9 and 10 next year, taking astronauts to begin the space lab, a milestone in the country's space program aimed at building a space station.
China also plans missions including an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover next year, and the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017.
