The last nighttime search and rescue drill for the landing of Shenzhou VI spacecraft was concluded Thursday night.
Four helicopters took off one after another at 6:40 PM Thursday from the main landing field for Shenzhou-6 spacecraft to start last nighttime search and rescue drill.
At 8:00 PM, the first helicopter landed less than 50 meters away from the presumed location of the re-entry capsule.
At 8:02 PM, staff of the search and rescue team helped two "astronauts" opened the door of the re-entry capsule. The two "astronauts" walked out of the capsule by themselves.
At 8:05 PM, the two "astronauts" boarded a helicopter on their own to go through medical check-up.
At 8:32 PM, the two "astronauts" boarded two helicopters and were flown to a transfer airport, wrapping up the drill.
The drill, which started at 6:25 PM, aimed to further enhance the search and rescue capability to ensure the safety of the astronauts, said an official with the drill.
Earlier, three such drills had been held in the main landing field, located in the central part of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Wu Guoting, a member of the manned spacecraft expert panel of the Chinese Academy of Space Technology, said the return time of Shenzhou VI is influenced by weather conditions in the coming days.
"Weather conditions of the landing fields is very important. We will adjust the time of return according to the conditions of the landing fields and conditions of the flight," he said.
He revealed that supplies on the spacecraft are enough to sustain a flight of seven days.
According to weather report, the lowest temperature in the main landing field is five centigrade below zero Thursday. It also experiences a four to five force of westerly wind.
On Friday, the temperature there will begin to rise. The lowest temperature will be three centigrade below zero.
On Saturday, the temperature will continue to rise, with the highest to reach 14 centigrade and the lowest one centigrade below zero.
From Sunday to Monday, cold air will arrive in the area again. It will slightly drive down the temperature and bring a four to five force northeasterly wind to the area. The front of the cold air will reach the main landing field Sunday afternoon. The wind force will begin to subside after 8:00 PM Sunday and shift into a southerly wind.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2005)
