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Chinas first astronaut will attempt to blast off into space on 15 October, according to reports from several different sources. Experts believe the historic flight will see a single yuhangyuan circle the Earth aboard a Shenzhou spacecraft. The first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, spent 108 minutes aloft in 1961. We have been told our live broadcast of the launch will be on the 15 th , a China Central Television news centre official told AFP. State-controlled media outlets have revealed few specific details about these flights but all have been reported a success. The first astronaut will be chosen from a pool of 14 experienced pilots who have undergone years of training in China and in Russia. National pride China hopes to become only the third nation ever to put a person in space, after the former Soviet Union and the US. The feat is a matter of great national pride for the Chinese government, who see it as a demonstration of Chinas technological development and its growing economic power. Access to space is also becoming an increasingly vital military asset, as the US militarys growing reliance on its constellation of Global Positioning System satellites demonstrates. Plans for a small inhabitable space station and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars have been discussed by officials. China has also enquired about joining the International Space Station project.
Shenzhou V will be launched using a Chinese Long March rocket from Jiuquan Space Launch Centre in Gansu, northwest China. The capsule will parachute back to Earth somewhere in Inner Mongolia. Previous reports have suggested the launch will take place during the day, in contrast to previous missions. Extremely low night-time temperatures have forced some missions to be delayed. Xie Guangxuan said mission controllers were most concerned about the period during re-entry when, at an altitude of 80 kilometres, communications with the capsule are briefly lost. The last Shenzhou flight, in January 2003, tested the life-support systems needed for a crewed flight. A previous mission also saw a flight test dummy lofted into orbit. But none of the previous Shenzou launches were broadcast live on national television.
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