Now that China is sending people in to space. What should they be called. The Russians chose to call Yuri Gagarin a cosmonaut. The Americans called Alan Shepard an astronaut so what have the Chinese chosen? Officially Yang will be China's first Yuhangyuan (which means space navigator) but a Singapore-based website was quick to coin the term taikonaut (derived from the word taikong , meaning space).
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FIRST WHAT?
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NAME
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COUNTRY
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DATE
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FLIGHT DURATION
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QUOTE
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Cosmonaut
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Yuri Gagarin
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USSR
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1961
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12 hours
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At the end of his historic flight Gagarin landed in a field still wearing his space suit and
helmet. He was approached by two farm workers who asked him "Have you come from outer space?" to
which a smiling Gagarin replied "Yes,yes, would you believe it, I certainly have"
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Astronaut
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Alan Shepard
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USA
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1961
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15 minutes
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The Atlas rocket was designed by the USA to carry astronauts into space. Alan Shepard and
John Glenn were invited to come and watch the test firing of one of the Atlas rockets. The
test failed when the rocket exploded. "I sure hope they fix that" was Shepard's dry remark
to Glenn.
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Taikonaut
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Yang Liwei
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China
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2003
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21 hours
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The Chinese Space Agency wanted a pilot with icy cool nerves to handle the pressure of being
their first man in space. As the Shenzhou V spacecraft hurtled into space mission control
asked taikonaut Yang Liwei for a status check. " I feel good, see you tomorrow" came the
cool reply. Looks like they picked the right guy!
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Up until 2003 only two nations had sent a man into space. In October 2003 China joined Russia and USA in that exclusive club when Yang Liwei completed 14 orbits of the earth during a 21 hour flight.
The trip into space started on 15th October when the Long March rocket carrying Yang Liwei in the Shenzhou V capsule blasted off from the Jiuquan launch centre into a clear blue sky. In words reminiscent of Neil Armstrong's speech as he stepped off the ladder of Apollo 11, Chinese president Hu Jinta called the flight a 'historic step for the Chinese people'. America and Russia lead the plaudits from around the world and the crew of the International Space Station sent the message 'Welcome to space'.