Astronauts cheered

cctv.com 10-17-2005 14:04

As the Shenzhou 6 re-entry module landed safely in grasslands in North China's Inner Mongolia, staff at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center celebrated the success of China's second manned space flight.

With cheers, applause and Chinese flags waving in the air, staff at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center hailed the complete success of China's Shenzhou-6 space mission.

The Command and Control Center turned into a scene of jubilation as spectators cheered the success.

Hou Xiangyang, engineer, said, "Since the launch in the early morning of October 12, our hearts have been with the two astronauts in the spacecraft. Now, it's 5 o'clock in the morning and the two astronauts have safely returned. It's a big relief for all of us."

Quite different from the excitement of ordinary people at the historic moment, some reactions were more calm. Technicians and other personnel cared more about the spacecraft's performance during the mission, and what it means for the program's more ambitious future plans.

Wang Yongzhi, Chief Designer, Manned Space Flight Program, said, "The whole nation has been anticipating this moment. I knew we have accomplished an important mission when the two astronauts emerged from the re-entry module. The Shenzhou-6 mission was an indispensable step towards more challenging tasks. I'm glad we achieved so many breakthroughs in space flight technology."

Hu Shixiang, Dep. Gen. Commander, Shenzhou 6 Mission, said, "It's a very successful mission. You see, the parachute was perfectly stable when the re-entry module landed. And we didn't detect any abnormal performance."

Spending a sleepless night anxiously awaiting, these engineers found it a great reward to see Shenzhou-6's re-entry module land safely, exactly as planned.

Zhang Tingxin, Dep. Secretery, CPC Space Technology Committee, said, "The success of Shenzhou-6 mission shows that our country's space flight technologies and spacecraft retrieval technologies are reliable and mature. "

Researchers say the vertical landing of the re-entry module turned out to be even more accurate than its predecessor, Shenzhou-5. They said the success of the Shenzhou-6 mission gives them more confidence to strive for more.

Editor:Chen Zhuo  Source:CCTV.com