One of the posts on the forum cited the launch date from news that originated from the Xi'an Satellite Control Centre (XSCC) in Shaanxi Province. The poster emphasized, however, that the accuracy of the information could not be guaranteed.

But a report in Wednesday's (Aug. 13) Wen Wei Po appears to support the timeframe of the launch. The local newspaper said that the launch of SZ-5 would happen after the weeklong celebration of the National Day, which is on Oct. 1.

The report also said that news of the purported launch on National Day was not accurate.

On Sunday (Aug. 10), the 24-hour satellite news channel Phoenix TV quoted information from the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND) that SZ-5 would be launched on time in October. But the TV news report did not mention a specific date.

Another post on the aerospace forum wrote that SZ-5 would be a mission involving only a single yuhangyuan. The information came from an unidentified technician at the Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the manufacturer of the Changzheng-2F (Long March-2F) launcher that would send SZ-5 into space.

The selection of this yuhangyuan, according to the CALT technician, would come in two stages. Space officials would choose three candidates from the corps of twelve yuhangyuans when the launch is near.

Then on launch day the candidate with the best condition would receive the honour to pilot the historic and the most important mission to date in the Chinese space program.

A week ago on Aug. 3, another Hong Kong-based newspaper Ta Kung Pao reported that the launch window of SZ-5 might be around 6 a.m. Beijing Time (2200 UTC on previous day).

Wen Wei Po also reported that more than 20 different types of seeds would ride on SZ-5.

The Hangzhou Agriculture Bureau had sent five categories of seeds, with a total weight of more than 500 grams, to Beijing in late July. According to the bureau, the seeds would ride on SZ-5 for about a week.

If the news report is correct, it provides a hint that the first Chinese manned space mission could last up to a week.

The seeds include Xihu longjing, a famous green tea produced in Hangzhou; asparagus; sweet corn; and edible fungus.

But a space official promptly denied that these seeds had received approval to ride on SZ-5. An unnamed official involved with the SZ-5 mission told Beijing Youth Daily that the payload manifest had not been finalized.

Launcher Transfer Next Week
Meanwhile Wen Wei Po reported on Monday (Aug. 11) that the CZ-2F launcher would be ready for shipment from CALT in Beijing to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) in the northwestern Gansu Province "in about ten days, before August 23".

Last week Ta Kung Pao also reported that the transfer of CZ-2F to JSLC could happen within the last ten days of the month.

The latest news seems to indicate that preparation for the transfer has been going smoothly and according to plan.

The delivery of CZ-2F to the launch centre signifies that the final push for the SZ-5 mission is about to start.

Public Education Campaign
As China is on the verge to become the third nation to launch its own people into space, the government is mounting a public education campaign to raise the profile of the mission and the general awareness of its space program.

During the annual Science and Technology Week in Beijing, a week of public science education activities that will open on Sept. 23, a key attraction will be on space exploration to coincide with the upcoming launch of SZ-5.

In the main exhibition hall is an interactive exhibit that features six computers to simulate the rocket launch system. Visitors can simulate the control of propellant loading, launch countdown, rocket motor ignition, and monitor the liftoff.

Various spacecraft models and actual flight hardware will be on display, including the SZ-3 Descent Module and a cutaway model of the Dongfanghong-2 (DFH-2) comsat.

This is a rather unusual campaign since the government typically does not widely publicize most space missions before the launch. In some missions, very little information is available on the spacecraft even when it has achieved orbit.

But the SZ-5 mission is not a typical launch. The entire nation, and indeed the worldwide space community, will have a keen interest to witness history in the making.

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