Countdown to second manned space launch
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-27 06:06

An official who is close to the manned space programme earlier said the launch would be in daytime to enhance safety and ease preparations.

The Shenzhou VI will probably again land on the grasslands in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, he added.

The Shenzhou V, which orbited the Earth 14 times in a 21-and-half-hour flight in October two years ago, also descended on the northern Chinese region.

During the second manned flight, astronauts will be able to move from the spaceship's re-entry module to the orbital module to conduct scientific tests, Sun Laiyan, head of the China National Space Administration, told China Daily earlier.

After the re-entry module returns to the Earth, the orbital module will continue working in space as an independent satellite carrying out a series of scientific experiments, scientists said.

Yesterday's media reports again highlighted the fault-detection and escape system on the Shenzhou VI to improve the safety of the astronauts.

The 8-metre-tall escape system, built atop the spacecraft, can detatch the Shenzhou VI from its rocket in case of emergency 900 seconds before and 160 seconds after take-off, according to Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po newspaper.

The duo to fly the Shenzhou VI will be chosen from the same pool of fighter-jet pilots who were part of the first selection process during which Yang was chosen.