China drops clues about spacecraft computer
By Staff, CNETAsia
Tuesday, October 21 2003 8:01 AM
China's first manned spacecraft went up with a China-made information system that was just like an "electronic secretary", according to official news agency Xinhua.
The makers of the spacecraft, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, gave few details of the computer system aboard the ship, but said that the system included voice feedback.
Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut, returned to the Earth Oct. 16 after orbiting the planet 14 times in a Chinese-made spacecraft, the Shenzhou V. The Chinese-language-based computer system provided data such as altitude, speed, flight time, temperature and humidity and status of various systems inside the capsule as well monitoring the physical condition on the astronaut.
"The electronic device would alert the astronaut in both Chinese characters and short, clear and artificial mezzo-soprano voice instructions if data were not up to preset standards," said the report.
In addition, there were two other computer systems standing by in case the main system failed. The report did not indicate the type of hardware used in the system or the operating system used.
China's space program is shrouded under tight state security laws and very little is known about the technology.
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