The re-entry module of Shenzhou VI spacecraft was handed over to its developer, the China Research Institute of Space Technology (CRIST), at the Changping Railway Station in north Beijing Tuesday afternoon.

The re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou VI spacecraft, carrying taikonauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, landed safely on the Earth at 4:33 AM on Monday, marking the success of China's second manned space mission.

CRIST President Yuan Jiajun said the buffer engine of the capsule ran well before landing and remained intact, and the burning of the outer shell was normal.

"The heat-proof structure of the capsule wall has kept intact and the capsule is still hermetic, which indicates the successful re-entry of the spacecraft," he said.

The institute will open the capsule on Wednesday to study the "large quantity" of data gained during the space flight, he added.

The two taikonauts landed on the grasslands in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Monday morning. The space flight ran for 115 hours and 32 minutes, more than five times that of the Shenzhou V mission two years ago, which put the first Chinese taikonaut Yang Liwei in space.

(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2005)