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Last Updated: Wednesday, 15 October, 2003, 22:57 GMT 23:57 UK
Chinese astronaut returns to Earth
There is c##被过滤##iderable pride in China at the achievement
China's first astronaut has landed back on Earth after an historic mission in which he orbited the globe 14 times.
The Shenzhou V spacecraft touched down on the grasslands on Mongolian grasslands in northern China at 0628 on Thursday (2228 GMT Wednesday).
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao immediately spoke to astronaut Yang Liwei, and offered his "congratulati##被过滤## for a return as planned".
Yang Liwei, a 38-year-old lieutenant in the People's Liberation Army, told mission control he felt fine as he re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.
Helicopters were scrambled to locate his capsule after touchdown.
Earlier reports said that he would be issued with knives to protect himself from wild animals, in the event of his not being swiftly recovered after landing.
Worldwide welcome
Wednesday's launch of the Shenzhou V spacecraft, propelled into space by a Long March 2F rocket, was welcomed by space experts around the world.
The European Space Agency described it as an "outstanding achievement", while US space agency (Nasa) officials in Houston praised the smoothness of the launch.
Click here to see a diagram of China's Shenzhou spacecraft
China becomes the third nation to send a human into space, 40 years after the Soviet Union and the United States.
It feels good to be in space... the view of the universe is beautiful
Astronaut Yang Liwei
Profile: Yang Liwei
What China wants in space
Send us your comments
Chinese state television interrupted normal programmes half-an-hour after the launch to show footage of the event.
The authorities had decided it was too risky to show the launch live.
English-language channel CCTV-9 echoed the words of American Neil Armstrong when he became the first man to walk on the moon.
"If these were small steps, then now we are taking a giant leap into space," the announcer said.
National prestige
The former fighter pilot was cheered onto the capsule by a group of balloon-waving children.
Once aloft, he was said to be "reading a flight manual in the capsule of the Shenzhou V spacecraft and looked composed and at ease".
CHINA'S SPACEMEN
Yuhangyuan - Chinese for space navigator
Used in official media
Taikonaut - derived from taikong, space
Coined by Singapore-based website
State television said he would be eating freeze-dried shredded pork with garlic sauce and fried rice during his flight, and drinking tea.
The Shenzhou design is based on the Russian Soyuz three-person space capsule, although the Chinese space programme has made wide-ranging changes.
The project has become a matter of national prestige, with Shenzhou described in the official media as "China's self-designed manned spaceship".
"I will not disappoint the motherland," Yang Liwei said before boarding the capsule.
"I will complete each movement with total concentration. And I will gain honour for the People's Liberation Army and for the Chinese nation."
[此贴子已经被作者于2003-10-16 7:13:58编辑过]
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发表于 2003-10-16 15:09
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