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China plans woman in space by 2010
BEIJING (AFP) Jul 26, 2005
China will put its first woman in space within five years and has selected around 30 women pilots to be trained as astronauts, state media reported Tuesday.
Hu Shixiang, deputy chief commander of China's manned space program, said some of the women will embark on a space mission no later than 2010, working as flight commanders or on-board engineers, according to the China Daily.
The pool of candidates will be narrowed to four finalists during a process that will begin next year, said Hu, speaking at a reception for three visiting American astronauts.
China's first group of potential male astronauts were all former fighter pilots, chosen for their physical strength.
The country's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, who blasted off into space on China's maiden manned space flight in 2003, had years of piloting experience.
But as China's manned space program matures, the country will need people with strong science backgrounds capable of carrying out research in orbit, said Zhang Qingwei, president of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.
In addition to female pilots, women specializing in medicine, biology and other disciplines will also have a chance to become astronauts, Zhang and Hu said.
"It is true women aviators have some advantages in terms of flight experience and physique, but we need payload experts with strong science and engineering background to do experiments in outer space," Hu was quoted as saying.
"The life support and environment control systems of our launch vehicles and spacecraft will allow average people, who are physically adequate and with some training, to fulfil space missions," Hu added.
Mae C. Jemison, one of the three visiting American astronauts and NASA's first black woman astronaut in 1987, said China's schedule to begin training women to go up in space by 2010 was not soon enough.
"China should have women astronauts as soon as possible, even earlier than next year, because you lose out on 50 percent of the talent that are available if you don't have women included," Jemison told the China Daily.
However, China's National Space Administration chief Sun Laiyan last year said China would not send women into space soon because it took time to train people and get them to reach a sufficient level of physical fitness.
China became only the third country in the world after the United States and the former Soviet Union to send a man into space when it launched its first manned mission in 2003.
China plans to launch its next manned space mission in early October with two astronauts circling the earth for five to six days.
A Soviet cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, became the first woman in space in 1963. The United States sent its first woman astronaut, Sally Ride, into space in 1983.
China plant, innerhalb der nächsten fünf Jahre auch eine weibliche Astronautin ins Weltall zu schicken. Sie soll nach Aussage des stellvertretenden Commanders von Chinas bemanntem Weltraumprogramm Hu Shixang spätestens bis zum Jahr 2010 starten, wie er der China Daily mitteilte. Die Aussage fiel im Rahmen eines Besuches von drei US-amerikanischen Astronauten, unter ihnen auch die erste farbige US-Amerikanerin Mae C. Jemison, die 1987 in den Weltraum startete.

Die Frau soll aus insgesamt 30 Kandidatinnen ausgewählt werden und entweder als Kommandantin des Fluges oder als Bordingenieurin arbeiten. Alle Kandidatinnen sind ehemalige Kampfpilotinnen der chinesischen Luftwaffe. Der Auswahlprozess soll im Jahr 2006 beginnen, zuerst werden aber aus 30 Kandidatinnen vier übrig bleiben.

Mae C. Jemison sagte bei ihrem Besuch, der angestrebte Termin für 2010 sei nicht früh genug: „China sollte so früh wie möglich weibliche Astronauten haben, wenn möglich noch vor dem nächsten Jahr. Sonst verliert das Land 50 Prozent der Talente, die es haben könnte, wenn die Frauen mit einbezogen werden.“

Bisher haben zwei Nationen weibliche Astronautinnen ins All fliegen lassen. Die sowjetische Kosmonautin Walentina Wladimirowna Tereschkowa startete 1963, die USA entsandte Sally Ride 1983 in den Weltraum.