Chinese leaders and senior officials, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, have watched the launch of China's second manned spacecraft Shenzhou VI Wednesday.

Hu arrived at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center an hour earlier before the blastoff, listening to the work report and then watching the launch which started at nine in the morning.

Wen, who was on hand at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China during the launch, was present at the send-off ceremony early in the morning for the two astronauts aboard the spacecraft.

The premier said at the launch center that the Shenzhou V carrying Yang Liwei to the space two years ago had turned China's space dream into reality.

"You will once again show that the Chinese people have the will, confidence and capability to mount scientific peaks ceaselessly," Wen told the two astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, wishing them to accomplish the glory mission.

Other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun and Luo Gan were present respectively at the Beijing command center and the Jiuquan satellite launch base.

Jiang Zemin on Wednesday extended congratulation to the launch and wished a complete success to the second manned space program.

At 9:00 AM, Shenzhou VI blast off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China atop a Long March II F carrier rocket. The launch was declared a success 39 minutes later.  

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center on the occasion turned into a scene of jubilation as spectors cheered the success.

Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center hailed the successful launch of Shenzhou VI, hoping that all concerned parties would make close coordination to accomplish their job with high quality and high standard, so as to ensure the success of the spaceflight this time and to achieve the triumphal return of the spacecraft and the astronauts.

In a brief a speech at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who arrived in Jiuquan on Tuesday evening, expressed congratulations for all scientists and military officers participating in this manned spaceflight mission, noting that all working staff make their laborious efforts to conquer lots of difficulties in technology and achieve important progress. 

"The achievement in the launch of Shenzhou VI will be recorded in the country's glorious history," the Premier said.

China's space program, which is purely for peaceful purposes, is a contribution to human's science and peace, Wen said, adding that China is willing to cooperate with other nations in the development of space science and technology.

China's manned space mission with the Shenzhou VI spacecraft is the country's first multi-manned and multi-day spaceflight and the first human-participated space scientific experiment program, Wen said.

Shenzhou VI's successful liftoff and precise entry into the orbit was the first important step for the spaceflight this time, Wen said, hoping that all working staff would continue their efforts to fully accomplish the whole mission.

Other senior officials of the party and state, including Hui Liangyu, Liu Qi, Liu Yunshan, Wu Yi, Zhou Yongkang, He Guoqiang, Guo Boxiong and others were also present at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center to see the launching process.

China firstly experienced the manned spaceflight in October of 2003 with the Shenzhou V. The launch of Shenzhou VI spacecraft atop a Long March II F carrier rocket on Wednesday morning is the 46th success of China's space launch, and the 88th liftoff of Long March series. 

(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2005)