Taikonaut

From Conservapedia

Taikonaut is the English nickname and term used by Western media to describe the participants in China's Shenzhou (神舟 Divine Craft, or Divine Vessel) space program. The name is derived from taikong, the Chinese word for "space".

The Chinese themselves use the term yuhangyuan (宇航员, "travellers of the universe") or hangtianyuan (航天员, "space flight person") to describe their astronauts. English language publications within the country do, however, use the term "astronaut".

To date there have been three manned space missions, and a total of six taikonauts have orbited the Earth. In addition, during the Shenzou 7 flight, the first space walk was undertaken by a taikonaut.

The manned missions to date are as follows:

• Shenzhou 5, launched 15 October 2003, completed 14 orbits of the Earth, carrying the first ever taikonaut in space, Yang Liwei.
• Shenzhou 6, was launched on 12 October 2005 and completed a five-day mission. The crew consisted of Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng.
• Shenzhou 7, launched 25 September 2008 with a three-man crew of Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipengon on board. Zhai Zhigang will undertake the first space walk by a taikonaut.

Future plans include the construction of a space station, will building commencing in 2009 and a possible manned moon landing by 2017.