|
China opens new chapter in space history
(AFP/Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-10-13 07:18
Having two crew on board is a departure from October 2003, when Yang Liwei
spent 21 hours on a solo odyssey -- a mission that made China only the third
country after the United States and former Soviet Union to achieve the feat.
Some 40 seconds after Wednesday's launch the craft disappeared into the
clouds, but a camera on board showed Nie waving as the launch centre said lift
off and all signals were "normal".
"I feel good," said Fei in his first tranmission from the craft.
Fei, 40, and Nie, 41, were seen off by Premier Wen Jiabao, who was at the
launch pad to drum up nationalistic sentiment, saying he believed "the
astronauts will accomplish the glorious and sacred mission".
"You will once again show that the Chinese people have the will, confidence
and capability to mount scientific peaks ceaselessly," Wen said, adding that the
whole country expects "their victorious return from the mission."
Other top leaders including President Hu Jintao and and Vice President Zeng
Qinghong watched the event at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Centre.
Snow was falling at the launch site shortly before lift off but stopped at
about the time the astronauts entered their craft, Xinhua news agency reported.
Fei Junlong (left),
Nie Haisheng pose for a photo before the Shenzhou VI is
launched. [Xinhua] |
The fact that Wednesday's mission carried two astronauts reflects the twin
purposes of China's space program, which aims for both scientific gains and
kudos at home and abroad.
"Part of it is technical. If you are two people, you can do more complicated
and more sophisticated types of work and experimentation," said Joan
Johnson-Freese, an expert on China's space program at the US Naval War College.
"Part of its also too is prestige. Two people is harder than one person," she
said.
|
