Shenzhou 6 Returns: China’s Second Manned Mission Lands Safely

Two Chinese astronauts are safely back on Earth after their Shenzhou 6 spacecraft successfully touched down on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia Sunday, concluding a five-day mission and China's second manned spaceflight.

The space capsule carrying Shenzhou 6 astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng landed at 4:32:50 p.m. EDT (2032:50 GMT), though it was 4:32:50 a.m. Oct. 17 at China's Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center when the crew touched down, the country's official Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

Both astronauts - also known as "taikonauts" - were reported to be in good health after landing, and wore broad smiles while waving to recovery crews, photographers and television cameras after exiting their Shenzhou 6 spacecraft. Their egress and a welcoming ceremony were broadcast live on CCTV.

"I want to thank the people for their love and care," Fei said during the ceremony, in which both astronaut were given flowers and seated in chairs.

They later washed down chocolate and instant noodles with herbal tea while undergoing preliminary medical checks, Xinhua said, adding that doctors on scene had found the space flyers in "good health." The astronauts then boarded recovery helicopters to begin their journey back to Beijing, the news agency said.

The Shenzhou 6 crew spent 115 hours and 32 minutes in space, and traveled 2 million miles (3.25 million kilometers) during their mission, which set new human spaceflight records for China.

CCTV showed flight controllers and technicians at Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center bursting into applause after hearing Fei and Nie were safe and back on Earth.

In Nie's hometown of Zaoyang, in China's central province of Hubei, fireworks lit up the dark morning sky as revelers danced to celebrate the astronauts' safe return to Earth in video broadcast on CCTV. A similar celebration was held in Fei's hometown of Kunshan, located in China's eastern province of Jiangsu.

"I declare that China's Shenzhou 6 manned spaceflight has been a great success," said Chen Bingde, commander-in-chief of China's space program, during a post-landing address at Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center broadcast on CCTV.

Fei and Nie launched into space on Oct. 12 Beijing Time (late Oct. 11 EDT) on China's second manned spaceflight and the first to carry two astronauts. The space shot lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert almost two years to the day of China's first manned launch.

That first mission, Shenzhou 5, launched astronaut Yang Liwei into orbit on Oct. 15, 2003. China is the third country to independently launch humans into Earth orbit after Russia and the U.S. But unlike Yang's flight, which was guarded from the public eye, much of the Shenzhou 6 mission - from its launch to landing - was broadcast live on national Chinese television.

Wu Banggua, Chairman of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC), heralded the Shenzhou 6 spaceflight while addressing flight controllers at the mission's Beijing Control and Command Center.

With Shenzhou 6, China has "achieved another milestone achievement in terms of space exploration," Wu said during the speech, which was broadcast live on China Central Television (CCTV).

China's space program is a source of national pride and prestige for the nation's Communist government, which has announced plans to build a manned space station and aims at launching an unmanned probe to the Moon by 2010. The Shanghai Daily newspaper reported Thursday that China's next manned mission, Shenzhou 7, is expected to launch in 2007 and include the nation's first spacewalk and a "docking experiment."