Sep 26 2008
China to Remake ‘Capricorn One’
I’m a career space guy and I’m always encouraged to see nations and private citizens advancing space exploration, but sometimes technology doesn’t cooperate, so you have to be ready with a Plan B. Or at least the Chinese think so. They probably just launched three astronauts.
With a burst of flame and smoke, a Chinese rocket blasted off into orbit yesterday. But it was the state news agency that moved faster than the speed of light, publishing the transcript of an “in-space” conversation between the astronauts before they had even left Earth.
The Xinhua news agency posted an article on its website breathlessly describing the Shenzhou VII spacecraft in orbit and quoting exchanges between the crew, possibly during the most important part of the mission: China’s first spacewalk. The only problem was that the crew were still on terra firma.
The story had disappeared by the end of the day and its appearance was described as a technical error.
Gotta love those ‘technical errors’. Somebody just earned themselves a 9mm aneurysm and an early retirement.
(ORA: Capricorn One)
