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astronautix.com Chinese Manned Capsule 1978
Recovery of FSW
Recovery of FSW
Recovery of an unidentified FSW reconaissance satellite.

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Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft. Nation: China.

First public announcement of a Chinese manned program came in February, 1978. By November the head of the Chinese Space Agency, Jen Hsin-Min, confirmed that China was working on a manned space capsule and a "Skylab" space station.

In January, 1980 the Chinese press reported a visit with the Chinese astronaut trainees at the Chinese manned spaceflight training centre. Photographs appeared of the astronauts in training. Pressure suited astronauts were shown in pressure chamber tests. Other trainees were shown at the controls of a space shuttle-like spaceplane cockpit.

A fleet of ships for recovery of manned capsules at sea was built and in May, 1980, the first capsule was recovered from the South Pacific after a suborbital launch. But then, suddenly, in December, 1980, Wang Zhuanshan, the Secretary General of the New China Space Research Society and Chief Engineer of the Space Centre of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, announced that Chinese manned flight was being postponed because of its cost. Fundamental economic development was given priority.

Recovery of FSWRecovery of FSW - Recovery of FSW-17 photoreconnaisance satellite.

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In the absence of any further information, it can only be conjectured that the manned capsule of this period was derived from the unmanned FSW spacecraft. The Chinese had perfected ballistic re-entry vehicle techniques very early in their space program with the FSW series of photo-reconnaissance satellites. The FSW was first successfully launched in 1976 (the first attempt, in 1974 was a launch failure; the second, in 1975, crashed to earth when the parachute failed). The spacecraft had an overall mass sufficient for a simple manned capsule (2500 kg), but the re-entry vehicle of the basic version seems a bit too small for a human occupant.
Specification

Craft.Crew Size: 1. Total Mass: 2,500 kg.

Chinese Manned Capsule 1978 Chronology

01 February 1978 First public announcement of a Chinese manned program

First public announcement of a Chinese manned program came in February, 1978. By November the head of the Chinese Space Agency, Jen Hsin-Min, confirmed that China was working on a manned space capsule and a 'Skylab' space station.

01 January 1980 Chinese astronauts in training

The Chinese press reported a visit with the Chinese astronaut trainees at the Chinese manned spaceflight training centre. Photographs appeared of the astronauts in training. Pressure suited astronauts were shown in pressure chamber tests. Other trainees were shown at the controls of a space shuttle-like spaceplane cockpit.

01 May 1980 Chinese recovery of ballistic capsule at sea

The first capsule - perhaps a prototype of a manned spacecraft design - was recovered from the South Pacific after a suborbital launch.

01 December 1980 Work on early Chinese manned spacecraft ends

Wang Zhuanshan, the Secretary General of the New China Space Research Society and Chief Engineer of the Space Centre of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, announced that Chinese manned flight was being postponed because of its cost. Fundamental economic development was given priority.

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Last update 12 March 2001.
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