Shenzhou VI's reentry capsule, carrying taikonauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, landed safely at 4:33 AM this morning, marking a "complete success" for China's second manned space mission after it put the first Chinese national in space two years ago, said top legislator Wu Bangguo.

 

"The successful mission is of great significance for elevating China's prestige in the world, promoting China's economic, scientific and national defense capabilities and consolidating national cohesiveness," he said at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center.

 

He described it as a "milestone" in China's space technology development and in its manned scientific experiments in space.

 

Both taikonauts are "in fine condition," doctors said after their physical checkups upon landing. They landed just 1 km away from the preset spot after a 115 hour 32 minute space flight, more than five times the length of China's maiden manned space flight.

 

Fei and Nie stepped unaided down the ladder from the capsule and were seated for a while to receive a bouquet of flowers and get used to Earth's gravity.

 

"We feel fine," said a smiling Fei. Nie, who had spent his 41st birthday in space, thanked the Chinese people for their "concern and support." Both waved flowers to the excited crowd.

 

They were later given Chinese herbal tea and food before being flown on two Super Puma helicopters to a nearby airport where they will head for Beijing by special plane.

 

The mission has gripped the nation, and television pictures showed parents of the two taikonauts burst into tears when they saw their sons emerging from the spacecraft.

 

"We can have a final laugh," Liu Yu, commanding chief of the rocket system, told Xinhua News Agency. "It was a mission perfectly fulfilled."

 

President Hu Jintao was present at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center to watch the lift-off on Wednesday and talked with the taikonauts on Saturday, and Premier Wen Jiabao was at the launch site to see them off.

 

Shenzhou VI flew 3.25 million kilometers in space, orbiting once every 90 minutes 343 km above the Earth at a speed of 7.9 km per second.

 

Fei and Nie conducted a series of firsts for China on the spacecraft, including maneuvers between the orbital and reentry capsules, putting on and taking off spacesuits, using the space toilet and the self-administered blood pressure tests.

 

During China's first manned space flight, Yang Liwei never left his seat in the reentry capsule nor did he take off his spacesuit. That mission made China the third country to launch people into space after Russia and the US.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 (Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2005)