But in Dongfeng Space City, a town built to support the launch site, China’s space program is being celebrated.
Every street lamp is decorated with a national flag.
Cartoon astronaut figurines and sculptures occupy the center of children’s parks, and plastic rockets are at the center of most traffic roundabouts.
A huge poster of Xi Jinping on one side and a photo of the Shenzhou spacecraft on the other greet you as you drive into the main building.
Hundreds of people gathered in the dark after midnight, waving flags and brightly colored lights, as the Taikonauts took their last few steps on Earth before heading to the launch site.
The brass band sang the hymn to the motherland when they were young, then stayed up late and sang with Chinese flags on their cheeks.
It is a moment of national pride.
The mission’s pilot, Cai
“Thanks to their youthful energy, I have become younger and more confident,” he said to the gathered media ahead of takeoff.
“Thanks to the dreams that bring glory and the glory that ignites new dreams, we pledge to the Party and the people that we will faithfully carry out our mission with our whole heart and mind. “We will strive to achieve new achievements in China’s manned space program.”
To his left stands Song Lingdong, smiling brightly.
He recalls feeling “excitement and awe” as a 13-year-old watching one of China’s first space station missions. He chose to become a pilot in the hope that this would be a way for him to serve his country.
All three convey a deep sense of national pride, with state media highlighting that they will be the ‘youngest flight attendants’ to date.
The message is clear. This is an investment in a new generation of space travelers and in our nation’s future.
China has already selected its next group of astronauts and they will train for potential lunar missions and space station crews.
Mr. Song said, “I will not betray your trust in me.” “We will work hard to make our country’s name shine in space once again.”
