China's First Astronaut Was Actually Covered in Blood When He Landed

[n2doc]

Posted by Alex_Pasternack on Saturday, Jun 05, 2010

When CCTV, China’s Central Television network, captured Yang Liwei (杨利伟 ) emerging from his space capsule, the country’s first astronaut (or taikonaut, if you like) looked tired but happy, and certainly healthy.

But he did not return to Earth safely. As Andrew Jacobs reports in yesterday’s New York Times,

a design flaw had exposed the astronaut to excessive G-force pressure during re-entry, splitting his lip and drenching his face in blood. Startled but undaunted by Mr. Yang’s appearance, the workers quickly mopped up the blood, strapped him back in his seat and shut the door. Then, with the cameras rolling, the cabin door swung open again, revealing an unblemished moment of triumph for all the world to see.

What is left unsaid in this tale of government censorship – reported in a lecture to journalism students by an official from China’s Xinhua news agency – is why exactly this happened. Was it mainly to save face for the Chinese space program, or an attempt to protect the dignity of the country’s first astronaut?

more

http://www.motherboard.tv/2010/6/5/saving-face-china-s-first-astronaut-was-actually-covered-in-blood-when-he-landed

[Ian David]

1. He's lucky it was just blood. There are more embarrassing fluids. n/t