China is only the third country to send humans into orbit on its own, after Russia and the United States.

An artistic rendering shows the re-entry capsule of the Shenzhou VI spacecraft touches down in the main landing field in Central Inner Mongolia this morning. [Xinhua]

State television showed scores of technicians monitoring the landing at computer screens at a Beijing control center. They showed no reaction when an announcer said the capsule had landed but broke into cheers after word came that the astronauts were safe, the Associated Press reported.

The mission had "accomplished the planned experiments and accumulated valuable technical data," Xinhua said Sunday. 

Staff at the Beijing Aerospace Demand and Control Center celebrates the success of China's second manned space mission. [Xinhua] 

"We feel good, our work is going smoothly and our life is happy," Fei was quoted as saying Sunday evening before the craft began its re-entry maneuvers. "We will do our utmost to fulfill the mission."

"We're grateful for the deep love and concern by all Chinese people, the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots," Nie said.

Shenzhou 6 orbited the Earth 76 times and traveled more than 1.9 million miles.

The mission was substantially longer and more complex than the 2003 flight, when astronaut Yang Liwei orbited for 21 1/2 hours before his capsule landed by parachute.

上一页  [1] [2]