CHINA’S historic first manned foray into space was celebrated in Beijing, lauded in Moscow, and met with antipathy in Washington.
On 16 October, 38-year-old air force officer Yang Liwei landed in Inner Mongolia, after circling the Earth 14 times in the orbiter Shenzhou-5. With the flight, China became the third country, after Russia and the US, to put a human in space without outside help. But while Russia was happy to see China join this exclusive club, the US was not.
China wants to collaborate with other nations in space, and put a taikonaut on board the International Space Station.…
