China's second manned space flight ended successfully yesterday as the Shenzhou VI craft returned to Earth, leading to patriotic celebrations and plans for an ambitious new mission in 2007.
The capsule carrying astronauts Fei Junlong (費俊龍) and Nie Haisheng (聶海勝) parachuted softly onto a field in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia to bring their five-day mission to a close, the Xinhua news agency said.
"Our journey in space was very smooth. The living and working conditions inside the cabin were very good. Our health is okay, thanks," Fei said on state television, with a radiant smile.
Emerging from the module, the two took a few seconds to adjust to the Earth's gravity, before being presented with bouquets and waving to assembled recovery teams and ground control staff.
The successful mission, followed for the past 115 hours by millions of people across the country, boosted China's prestige and marked another step in its progress towards becoming a space power.
Soon after the astronauts touched down, Tang Xianming (唐賢明), director of China Manned Space Engineering Office, announced that the next manned mission would take place in 2007 and would include a spacewalk.
"Now I can tell you all that around 2007, astronauts would walk out of the cabin and walk in space," he told a press conference.
Two spacecraft would dock in orbit some time in the period between 2009 and 2012 in preparation for establishing a permanent space station, he said.
China's top legislator Wu Bangguo (吳邦國), who watched the return of Shenzhou VI from the Bei-jing Aerospace Command and Control Center, hailed the mission as a milestone.
"It is of great significance in elevating China's prestige in the world and promoting China's economic, scientific and national defense capabilities, and its national cohesiveness," he was quoted saying by the People's Daily Web site.
Xinhua reported that the capsule landed upright after touching down at 4:33am, just 1km from the intended landing site.
Shenzhou VI orbited around the earth at a speed of 7.9kps and travelled 3.25 million kilometers during the five-day journey, it said.
Fei and Nie were taken by special plane to a military airport on the outskirts of Beijing, saluting briskly and shaking hands with Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan (曹剛川).
"I can feel that lots of people are thinking about us. We're very grateful for all the love and concern from our motherland and its people," Nie said.
In Nie's hometown in Zaoyang County, Hebei Province, hundreds residents hit the streets to mark the spacecraft's safe return. TV showed footage of the town celebrating its most famous son with firecrackers and dragon dances.
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China's next space odyssey: a permanent space station in orbit
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