China has successfully launched a rocket carrying two Chinese astronauts into space, for the second time. The lift-off happened at 5:00(by Moscow time). The lift-off was shown live on state television and included views from a camera on the outside of the rocket.
The mission will take the astronauts on board the Shenzhou VI spacecraft on a five-day orbit around Earth, during which they will carry out experiments.
The two pilots chosen for the mission, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, were selected after a rigorous screening process.
Minutes after liftoff, mission control announced that the first stage booster had successfully separated from the rocket and that the flight had entered its preset orbit.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the crew was picked from a field of six finalists. Nie was one of three finalists for the 2003 mission.
Shenzhou VI, like Shenzhou V, is based on Russia`s Soyuz spacecraft, a model developed in the late 1960s. Spacesuits, life-support systems and other equipment are based on technology purchased from Russia.
China`s first manned space voyage two years ago made it only the third country to launch a human into space on its own, along with Russia and the US.
sections: World News, Hi-Tech |
Russian News
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