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.