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Top 10 Questions: China's March to Space
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 01:00 pm ET
14 October 2003
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4. How is the Shenzhou spaceship
designed?
The craft has three main
components:
- Rear: Instrument and propulsion module.
- Middle: Crew carrying ascent/descent module
- Front: Orbital module
The Shenzhou spacecraft is 9.2 feet (2.8 meters) wide, 28.9 feet (8.8 meters)
long and weighs 8.4 tons (7,600 kilograms).
While similar in design to the
Russian Soyuz, the larger Shenzhou spacecraft makes use of an orbital module
that carries its own maneuvering engines and is powered by a set of solar
arrays. This unique component typically operates for six months of independent
flight, after the crew has returned to Earth.
The orbital module contains a
suite of scientific and technology experiments, and also is outfitted with
external equipment, including radar and other devices.
Shenzhou 5's orbital module is
expected to carry a high-powered Earth remote sensing camera. In addition, there
may be external docking hardware mounted to this module for a trail run in the
vacuum and microgravity of space.
Next page: When is the
launch?
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