China's First Space Walker Back on Earth

Next up: assembling space station

(AP) - A Chinese astronaut took the nation's first spacewalk today, floating outside the orbiter module's hatch for about 13 minutes. "Greetings to all the people of the nation and all the people of the world," he declared in a live broadcast on state TV, waving a Chinese flag. More»

(NEWSER) - China's 3-man spacecraft is now safely in orbit and all systems are go for the nation's first spacewalk tomorrow, reports Reuters. One of the astronauts is set to spend 40 minutes outside the shuttle in a $4.4 million Chinese space suit. Beijing plans to build a permanent space station within the next decade, and could eventually shoot for a moon landing. More»

Researchers analyzing 40 minutes of film during July solar eclipse

(NEWSER) - Chinese scientists have reported filming a UFO for 40 minutes during the solar eclipse in July, reports the Telegraph. Researchers from the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing said they will study the footage for a full year before they issue any conclusions. Scientists "discovered near the sun an unidentified object," said the director of the observatory. "Its physical nature remains to be further studied." More»

Astronauts to launch tomorrow would make China only third nation to accomplish feat

(NEWSER) - China is set to become the third nation to send a human strolling through space this week, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The shuttle Shenzhou VII will launch tomorrow with a crew of three, one of whom will don a Chinese- or Russian-made spacesuit for the spacewalk, seen as another signal of China’s arrival among top-tier world powers. More»

Rest of the world collaborates while fearful US falls behind

(NEWSER) - While the rest of the world cooperates incessantly on all matters extraterrestrial, the US, hampered by self-imposed regulations meant to keep weapons out of enemies' hands, is swiftly losing dominance of the final frontier, the Washington Post reports. The US’ military space program is still gargantuan, but the civil program, NASA included, suffers from “limited public interest in space activity.” More»