China opens new chapter in space history
(AFP/Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-10-13 07:18

The two astronauts talked, through a phone, with their family members in the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center for about seven minutes, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Nie Tianxiang, daughter of Nie Haisheng, sang a song for her father's birthday which falls on Thursday.

Shenzhou VI is expected to circle around the Earth for the next 119 hours, or nearly five days, before landing in the Inner Mongolian grasslands.

The craft is based on the robust and thoroughly tested Soviet design for the Soyuz vessel, and consists of three modules.

These include the orbital module where scientific experiments are carried out; the re-entry capsule where the astronauts will spend most of their time; and the service module, which contains fuel and air, solar panels and other technical gear.

Unlike Yang Liwei two years ago, the two astronauts will leave their capsule for lengthy experiments in the orbital module at the nose of the spacecraft, observers said.

"They'll do quite a lot of medical tests, they'll take blood tests, urine tests, and they will also work out what kind of space food works for them" said Brian Harvey, the Dublin-based author of a book on China's space ambitions.

"Because ultimately what they are planning is a space station... and to do that they will need to learn how do they survive on longer missions."

The flight of Shenzhou VI will also be a thorough and comprehensive test of China's tracking network, which includes tracking stations as far away as Namibia and four tracking ships placed around the oceans of the world.