Yang, deputy commander-in-chief of the astronaut System of Shenzhou VI Manned Space Program, said all of them are excellent with years of training before and after the first space mission byShenzhou V two years ago.

On his role in the Shenzhou VI mission, Yang, 40, said his major job is to take charge of selecting astronaut pairs and training.

"All of my comrades-in-arms are excellent and capable of completing the manned space mission," he said.

"I'm sure they will do better than I did during my space mission as I was the sole pilot. They have two people with improved reliability of technical operations and mutual support," said the senior colonel in an interview with Xinhua at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province, northwest China.

China's second manned spacecraft Shenzhou VI was launched from the center Wednesday morning.

Chen Shanguang, commander-in-chief and chief designer of the Astronaut System of China Manned Space Program, said all of the country's astronauts are about 40 years old, the prime age for executing space mission, and each of them is capable of piloting the spacecraft.

"We are doing what we can to create opportunities for as more as astronauts to orbit the Earth by spacecraft," he said.

Chen said Yang might be selected for another manned space mission in the future if it is needed, according to him.

Yang said the three pair pool were elite pilots of the country's air force before they were selected for the country's manned space program.

Despite similar background and experience, the six astronauts have their own features, he said.

Astronaut Fei Junlong, a former instructor with a flight training academy, is vivacious and good at communicating with others in dealing with difficult problems.

Nie Haisheng, who was one of the three member astronaut pool for the Shenzhou V mission, is a sober-minded and steadfast man of few words and is good at teamwork.

On the pair of Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng, Yang said Liu is straightforward, very clever and good at operation control, while his partner is good at organization work and theoretical study.

Zhai Zhigang, also one of the three member astronaut pool for the previous space mission, is an outspoken man of humor, and his partner Wu Jie, the oldest among the six, is professionally competent.

Hu Yinyan, chief training designer of spacecraft operation skills, said everyone of the astronauts is competent with a good memory and good eye-hand coordination capability. "They are the cleverest students I have ever taught."

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2005)