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Space mission a boost for civil industries

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-26 22:40

BEIJING -- When the Shenzhou-VII mission climaxes in China's first space walk slated on Saturday, the advanced technology behind the feat is viewed as a boost for the country's civil industries.

Space technology will greatly drive the development and upgrading of various civil industries, as space science in such products as new materials, electric machinery, engines and software can all be put into civilian use, said professor Han Liyan at the School of Economics and Management of Beihang University, a prestigious aeronautic and astronautic college.

"How much space technology can radiate to civil industries is unmeasurable," said Han.

Of more than 1,000 types of new materials China developed in recent years, 80 percent have been driven by the demand of space technology, figures from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) show.

Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 items of space technology have been transferred to civil economic agencies, according to the CASC, the developer of the manned spacecraft Shenzhou-VII and its carrier rocket Long March II-F.

The China Astronaut Research and Training Center has produced some space food, including chocolate and cakes, for the Shenzhou-VII astronauts for civil use, said the center's nutritionist Chen Bin.

As of the end of 2007, more than half of the CASC's revenues came from civilian sectors. Most civilian projects in China's space industry were led by the CASC and the rival China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp.(CASIC).

China's manned space project, which requires much more advanced technologies than unmanned missions, has remarkably boosted the development of basic sciences and industrial techniques, said the project's chief designer Zhou Jianping, who added its indirect effect well exceeded the direct benefit.

For example, stricter technical standards demanded by the manned space program have been promoted and led to a breakthrough in the reliability of China-made electronic elements and parts in the past decade, said Huang Chunping, former head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

Space technology can also be applied in weather forecasting, auto making, metallurgy, textile, building material, food and chemical industries, scientists said.

However, an integrate industrial chain had yet to be formed in China while government boundaries remained unclear in civilianizing space technology, said Han, who added a greater role of private capital could accelerate the process.

China set up its first industrial base for civilianizing space technology in Shanghai last October. A second one was established in the northwestern Xi'an this April, with a planned annual output of 20 billion yuan (2.9 billion US dollars) by 2012.

China's third manned spaceship Shenzhou-VII blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest Gansu Province on Thursday, with three astronauts on board to attempt the country's first-ever space walk.