More Chinese Launch Plans Emerging

News reports in China have stated that the Chinese are will attempt to join the nations capable of sending humans into space on October 15, a day after the meeting of Communist party members. The Shenzhou 5 spacecraft will carry a single astronaut (or yuhangyuan) into space for a single 90-minute loop around the Earth. It appears the Chinese are going to be very conservative on their first launch attempt, essentially matching the flight that Yuri Gagarin made more than 40 years ago. There hasn’t been an official launch announcement from the government yet.