Shenzhou VI flight 'after October holiday'
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-09-12 06:51

China plans to launch its second manned space mission after the National Day holiday next month, Beijing News reported Sunday.

The launch will occur after the October 1-7 holiday, the report said. It did not cite a source for its report.

The spacecraft Shenzhou VI will be launched from the Jiuquan Space Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu province, using a Long March 2F rocket, the report said.

The space flight will involve two astronauts, as previously reported, and will last 119 hours or five days, the newspaper said.

Technical officials have arrived at the Jiuquan launching base, it said.

The Shanghai Morning Post reported earlier this month that the mission could take place as early as this month or October, citing Zhang Qingwei, president of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The mission will differ markedly from China's first manned space voyage, the Shenzhou V, which was a solo flight that lasted 21 hours in October 2003.

China is only the third to send a person into space, after Russia and the United States.