Shenzhou-21 crew member looks forward to upcoming mission as payload specialist

Zhang Hongzhang, a Chinese astronaut for the upcoming Shenzhou-21 spaceflight mission, is looking forward to carrying out tasks in China's space station.

Zhang, a payload specialist, met the press along with his two crew mates on Thursday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Zhang previously conducted research in new energy and new materials at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He said his childhood dream was becoming a scientist and making contributions to national development.

Speaking to the press, he recalled how he decided to apply for the selection of China's new group of astronauts seven years ago.

"When our government made the first announcement in 2018 to select payload specialists from the researchers for future spaceflight missions, I felt that was my calling and I was determined to realize my dream. Being a payload specialist meant I could make prefect use of my scientific expertise in a spaceflight mission - it's a perfect match between personal development and the mission of our times. It could be the opportunity of a lifetime, so I immediately signed up. Fortunately, I've passed the selection process and finally made it here," said Zhang.

"China's manned space program has already entered the application and development phase. In the space station, we will be able to conduct research all the crews before us hoped but couldn't do and get the answers to the questions they tried but failed to get. As a Chinese, I feel immensely proud and honored!" he said.

The Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 23:44 Friday Beijing Time from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center atop a Long March-2F Y21 carrier rocket.

China's software and information technology services industry saw a rapid expansion in the first two months of this year, reporting double-digit growth in terms of revenues, official data showed Tuesday.

In the January-February period, the total revenue of the software sector rose 11.7 percent year on year to more than 2.15 trillion yuan (about 311.83 billion U.S. dollars), while the total profits climbed 7.3 percent to 269.3 billion yuan, according to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Software exports increased by 12.7 percent on a yearly basis.

Software products registered steady growth in revenue in the two months, accounting for 21.9 percent of the industry's total revenue. Information technology services maintained double-digit growth and raked in roughly 1.45 trillion yuan in revenue, taking up 67.2 percent of the industry's total revenue.