China's space program has really taken off in the last six years.
Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth Sunday, completing a three-day mission that included China's first-ever spacewalk.
A Chinese astronaut has completed his country's first-ever spacewalk as part of an ambitious program that is starting to rival the United States and Russia in its rapid expansion.
A Chinese Shenzhou-7 spaceship is scheduled to lift off Thursday evening on the nation's third manned space mission.
China has mapped out an ambitious space program for the next decade that includes a space walk in 2008, a lunar robot lander by 2012 and a possible space station after that, according to state-run media.
The following is a rundown of key events in China's space program, in its bid to become the third nation to have launched a man into space:
In October 2003, China joined an exclusive club, becoming only the third nation in history capable of independently putting a human into space.
People in China and parts of Asia cheered in the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Monkey, by packing temples, setting off fireworks and handing out cash and fruit.
It may be too early to call it a full-blown "space race", but China's burgeoning space program is certainly adding an element of competition for the long-dominant NASA efforts.
China's space program has really taken off in the last six years.
Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth Sunday, completing a three-day mission that included China's first-ever spacewalk.
A Chinese astronaut has completed his country's first-ever spacewalk as part of an ambitious program that is starting to rival the United States and Russia in its rapid expansion.
A Chinese Shenzhou-7 spaceship is scheduled to lift off Thursday evening on the nation's third manned space mission.
China has mapped out an ambitious space program for the next decade that includes a space walk in 2008, a lunar robot lander by 2012 and a possible space station after that, according to state-run media.
The following is a rundown of key events in China's space program, in its bid to become the third nation to have launched a man into space:
In October 2003, China joined an exclusive club, becoming only the third nation in history capable of independently putting a human into space.
People in China and parts of Asia cheered in the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Monkey, by packing temples, setting off fireworks and handing out cash and fruit.
It may be too early to call it a full-blown "space race", but China's burgeoning space program is certainly adding an element of competition for the long-dominant NASA efforts.
{
"threshold" : "17",
"tag" : {
"id" : "44110",
"type" : "PERSON",
"name" : "Yang Liwei",
"key" : "Yang_Liwei"
},
"assets" : [
{
"id" : "1966867",
"weight" : "26",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/TECH/space/10/24/china.taikonauts/index.html#cnnSTCText",
"publishDate" : "2009-10-24T13:24Z",
"headline" : "Chinese taikonauts' great leap into space",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "China's space program has really taken off in the last six years.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"largeTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "true",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "true"
},
{
"id" : "1460085",
"weight" : "17",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/28/china.space.astronauts.return/index.html#cnnSTCText",
"publishDate" : "2008-09-29T15:57Z",
"headline" : "China astronauts return to Earth triumphant",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth Sunday, completing a three-day mission that included China's first-ever spacewalk.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/28/china.space.astronauts.return/t1port.launch.ap.jpg",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/28/china.space.astronauts.return/tztop.launch.ap.jpg",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/28/china.space.astronauts.return/tztv.launch.ap.jpg",
"largeTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "true",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1454050",
"weight" : "22",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/27/china.space.orbit/index.html#cnnSTCText",
"publishDate" : "2008-09-27T13:26Z",
"headline" : "Astronaut takes China's first spacewalk",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "A Chinese astronaut has completed his country's first-ever spacewalk as part of an ambitious program that is starting to rival the United States and Russia in its rapid expansion.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/27/china.space.orbit/t1port.launch.ap.jpg",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/27/china.space.orbit/tztop.launch.ap.jpg",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/27/china.space.orbit/tztv.launch.ap.jpg",
"largeTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "true",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "1447342",
"weight" : "21",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/25/china.space/index.html#cnnSTCText",
"publishDate" : "2008-09-25T08:29Z",
"headline" : "China counts down to space walk mission",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "A Chinese Shenzhou-7 spaceship is scheduled to lift off Thursday evening on the nation's third manned space mission.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/25/china.space/t1port.rocket.ap.jpg",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/25/china.space/tztop.rocket.ap.jpg",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "/2008/TECH/space/09/25/china.space/tztv.rocket.ap.jpg",
"largeTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "35050",
"weight" : "20",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2006/TECH/space/03/12/china.space/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2006-03-12T07:02Z",
"headline" : "China's space quest gathers speed",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "China has mapped out an ambitious space program for the next decade that includes a space walk in 2008, a lunar robot lander by 2012 and a possible space station after that, according to state-run media.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"largeTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "58125",
"weight" : "17",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2005/TECH/space/10/12/china.space.timeline/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2005-10-12T05:32Z",
"headline" : "Timeline: China's space quest",
"wool" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "48150",
"weight" : "17",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/04/18/eyeonchina.space/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2005-04-18T23:22Z",
"headline" : "Space: China's great leap skyward",
"wool" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "64893",
"weight" : "17",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/01/22/china.ny/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2004-01-22T05:06Z",
"headline" : "Chinese ring in Year of the Monkey",
"wool" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
},
{
"id" : "68118",
"weight" : "37",
"type" : "document",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2004/TECH/space/01/14/china.spacerace/index.html",
"publishDate" : "2004-01-14T03:53Z",
"headline" : "China plans space competition",
"wool" : "",
"videoAttached" : "false",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
}
]
}
{
"threshold" : "",
"tag" : {
"id" : "44110",
"type" : "PERSON",
"name" : "Yang Liwei",
"key" : "Yang_Liwei"
},
"assets" : [
]
}
{
"threshold" : "17",
"tag" : {
"id" : "44110",
"type" : "PERSON",
"name" : "Yang Liwei",
"key" : "Yang_Liwei"
},
"assets" : [
{
"id" : "1966868",
"weight" : "23",
"type" : "photo",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/2009/TECH/space/10/24/china.taikonauts/index.html#cnnSTCPhoto",
"publishDate" : "2009-10-24T13:24Z",
"headline" : " China's space program",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "China's space program",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"largeTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "true",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "true"
},
{
"id" : "1966869",
"weight" : "22",
"type" : "video",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/video/#/video/international/2009/09/30/talk.asia.c.chinese.astronauts.cnn",
"publishDate" : "2009-10-24T13:24Z",
"headline" : "Lofty goals",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "China's space program has added a new dimension to the future of space exploration and a new space race on Earth.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "/video/international/2009/09/30/talk.asia.c.chinese.astronauts.cnn.160x90.jpg",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "/video/international/2009/09/30/talk.asia.c.chinese.astronauts.cnn.60x45.jpg",
"largeTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "true",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "true"
},
{
"id" : "1941910",
"weight" : "70",
"type" : "video",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/video/#/video/international/2009/09/30/talk.asia.a.chinese.astronauts.cnn",
"publishDate" : "2009-10-01T01:16Z",
"headline" : "Space odyssey",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "Yang Liwei and Zhai Zhigang, are the pioneering \"taikonauts\" of China's space program.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "/video/international/2009/09/30/talk.asia.a.chinese.astronauts.cnn.160x90.jpg",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "/video/international/2009/09/30/talk.asia.a.chinese.astronauts.cnn.60x45.jpg",
"largeTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "true",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "true"
},
{
"id" : "1460086",
"weight" : "17",
"type" : "video",
"site" : "cnn",
"site-url" : "http://www.cnn.com",
"site-display-text" : "CNN.com",
"siteId" : "/video/#/video/world/2008/09/27/vo.china.space.walk.CCTV",
"publishDate" : "2008-09-29T15:57Z",
"headline" : "China's first space walk",
"wool" : "",
"tease" : "A Chinese astronaut conducted the country's first spacewalk on Saturday.",
"teaseImageUrl" : "",
"mediumTeaseImageUrl" : "/video/world/2008/09/27/vo.china.space.walk.CCTV.160x90.jpg",
"smallTeaseImageUrl" : "/video/world/2008/09/27/vo.china.space.walk.CCTV.60x45.jpg",
"largeTeaseImageUrl" : "",
"videoAttached" : "true",
"imageGalleryAttached" : "false"
}
]
}
[
{
"tags" : [
{
"id" : "196840",
"weight" : "11.6",
"type" : "ORGANIZATION",
"name" : "China National Space Administration",
"key" : "China_National_Space_Administration"
},
{
"id" : "11",
"weight" : "9.15",
"type" : "topic",
"name" : "Technology",
"key" : "Technology"
},
{
"id" : "66",
"weight" : "9.15",
"type" : "topic",
"name" : "Science and Technology",
"key" : "Science_and_Technology"
},
{
"id" : "6198",
"weight" : "9.15",
"type" : "topic",
"name" : "Space Technology",
"key" : "Space_Technology"
},
{
"id" : "10085",
"weight" : "7.586",
"type" : "topic",
"name" : "Manned Space Flight",
"key" : "Manned_Space_Flight"
},
{
"id" : "260726",
"weight" : "1.96",
"type" : "PERSON",
"name" : "Zhai Zhigang",
"key" : "Zhai_Zhigang"
},
{
"id" : "183",
"weight" : "1.48",
"type" : "COUNTRY",
"name" : "China",
"key" : "China"
}
]
}
]
The page you requested cannot be found. The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.
Please try the following:
• If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is spelled correctly.
• Open the
edition.cnn.com home page and look for links to the information you want.
• Use the navigation bar above to find the link you are looking for.
• Click the Back button to try another link.
• Enter a term in the search form below to look for information on CNN sites or the Internet.
Video
Photos
