Shenzhou VI's reentry capsule, carrying taikonauts Fei Junlong
and Nie Haisheng, landed safely at 4:33 AM this morning, marking a
"complete success" for China's
second manned space mission after it put the first Chinese
national in space two years ago, said top legislator Wu
Bangguo.
"The successful mission is of great significance for elevating
China's prestige in the world, promoting China's economic,
scientific and national defense capabilities and consolidating
national cohesiveness," he said at the Beijing Aerospace Command
and Control Center.
He described it as a "milestone" in China's space technology
development and in its manned scientific experiments in space.
Both taikonauts are "in fine condition," doctors said after
their physical checkups upon landing. They landed just 1 km away
from the preset spot after a 115 hour 32 minute space flight, more
than five times the length of China's maiden manned space
flight.
Fei and Nie stepped unaided down the ladder from the capsule and
were seated for a while to receive a bouquet of flowers and get
used to Earth's gravity.
"We feel fine," said a smiling Fei. Nie, who had spent his 41st
birthday in space, thanked the Chinese people for their "concern
and support." Both waved flowers to the excited crowd.
They were later given Chinese herbal tea and food before being
flown on two Super Puma helicopters to a nearby airport where they
will head for Beijing by special plane.
The mission has gripped the nation, and television pictures
showed parents of the two taikonauts burst into tears when they saw
their sons emerging from the spacecraft.
"We can have a final laugh," Liu Yu, commanding chief of the
rocket system, told Xinhua News Agency. "It was a mission perfectly
fulfilled."
President Hu Jintao
was present at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center to
watch the lift-off on Wednesday and talked with the taikonauts on
Saturday, and Premier Wen
Jiabao was at the launch site to see them off.
Shenzhou VI flew 3.25 million kilometers in space, orbiting once
every 90 minutes 343 km above the Earth at a speed of 7.9 km per
second.
Fei and Nie conducted a series of firsts for China on the
spacecraft, including maneuvers between the orbital and reentry
capsules,?putting on and taking off?spacesuits, using the
space toilet and the self-administered blood pressure tests.
During China's first manned space flight, Yang Liwei never left
his seat in the reentry capsule nor did he take off his spacesuit.
That mission made China the third country to launch people into
space after Russia and the US.
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?(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2005)
