Astronaut Nie Haisheng waves to people outside the Shenzhou X re-entry capsule after a safe landing in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region at about 8 am on Wednesday. Wu Yunsheng / for China Daily

Shenzhou X astronauts return in good health after 15-day mission

With the safe return to Earth on Wednesday of three astronauts after a successful 15-day mission, China moved a step closer to realizing its space dream, which includes operating a space station by 2020.

Wang Zhaoyao, director of the China Manned Space Agency, released a more detailed outline for the manned space program.

He said in Beijing the manned space program will launch the Tiangong-2 space laboratory around 2015, and an experimental core space station module around 2018. The aim is to build a 60-ton multimodule space station by 2020.

Between 2015 and 2020, a string of cargo and manned spacecraft will be launched to deliver supplies and transport astronauts to the space lab and space station, he said.

Wang did not say how much will be spent on the forthcoming missions, but said the Shenzhou X mission that ended on Wednesday took spending on the manned space program to 39 billion yuan ($6.35 billion) since it was started in 1992.

He also said construction of a new launch site in Hainan province and development of two new types of launch vehicle - both crucial elements in the space program's next stage - have made smooth progress.

The new launch site's main infrastructure has been completed, including the testing laboratories for carrier rockets and spacecraft, Wang said.

The construction progress means that joint exercises and follow-up tasks can be carried out according to plan, he added.

Yuan Jie, deputy general manager of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, said the new site will see the launch of two types of China's new-generation carrier rockets.

As the carrier rockets in service now cannot meet demand from the future manned space station, the large-thrust Long March-5 carrier rocket, with the capacity of carrying a 20-ton payload in near-Earth orbit, will send space station modules into orbit, he said.

Meanwhile, the medium-thrust Long March-7 launch vehicle, with a carrying capacity of 13 tons in near-Earth orbit, will be used to send cargo spacecraft to the future manned space station, Yuan said.

"Development of both types of new launch vehicles is going smoothly. Their maiden flights are expected to be carried out during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15)," he said.

The three Shenzhou X astronauts ended their mission by touching down on the prairies of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region shortly after 8 am in windy weather.

After remaining in the re-entry capsule for 85 minutes to adjust to the Earth's gravity, crew commander Nie Haisheng, woman astronaut Wang Yaping and astronaut Zhang Xiaoguang were helped out of the capsule one by one by ground staff.

Sitting in a row in chairs, they smiled and waved to the TV cameras. All three are in good health after the country's longest manned space mission.

"It's good to be home," Nie said, while Wang Yaping, China's first astronaut to deliver a lecture from space on the effects of weightlessness, said: "This mission made me realize two dreams - my dream of flying to outer space, and my dream of being a teacher. If you have a dream, you can succeed."

After a brief welcoming ceremony, the astronauts flew to Beijing on a chartered flight.

The completion of the Shenzhou-10 and Tiangong-1 mission has marked a staged success in achieving the second strategic goal of China's manned space program, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said Wednesday.

"The complete success of Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou-X mission has further consolidated China's space rendezvous and docking expertise and marked a great staged success in achieving the second-phase target of the nation's manned space program," Zhang said in a congratulatory letter read on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Zhang watched the live broadcast of the return and recovery of Shenzhou-10 spacecraft from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center Wednesday morning.

He said the completion of the mission also marked that China's manned space program has entered the new stage of space station construction.

Space education

Wang Zhaoyao, the manned space agency's director, said the manned space program will organize more ground-based space-related educational activities in coming months. It will also stage more of these activities "in diversified fashion", he said.

Such lectures may also be expanded, as China's tracking and data-relaying technologies can support longer lectures between space and Earth, he said.

The space lecture, the highlight of the Shenzhou X mission, has received positive feedback from various quarters.

Karl Bergquist, Europe's leading expert on China's space program, from the European Space Agency's International Relations Department, said it is very important to attract and inspire students, teaching them about various physical phenomena in outer space.

"I am sure there were many students who, after the lecture, went home thinking how they could be part of this great adventure, which is the exploration of the universe," he said.

"It is also important to attract students to study engineering or scientific issues. A lecture like the one Ms Wang Yaping gave is certainly an important impetus in this process," he said.

Leroy Chiao, a Chinese- American astronaut who stayed on the International Space Station for half a year, congratulated Wang Yaping and China's space program for taking the time and effort to inspire young people.

"Educational outreach is a very important part of the human spaceflight endeavor. My hope is that the US and China can, and will, cooperate in space in the future. I believe it is mutually beneficial and will better relations between our two countries in other areas as well," he said.

Exchange visits

Deng Yibing, director of the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, said China's manned space program is willing to explore new cooperation in fields including astronaut training and joint flights with other countries.

Astronauts from the US, Russia and Europe have been invited to visit China. In the past two years, astronaut centers in China and Europe have exchanged visits to experience short training courses, Deng said.

"We believe that more extensive exchanges could help deepen understanding between us and establish a better basis for more concrete cooperation in the future," he said.

"China is willing to help train astronauts for other countries," he added.