Shenzhou V to fly Wednesday at earliest

cctv.com 10-14-2003 19:10

China's self-designed manned spaceship, the Shenzhou 5 (Divine Vessel V), completed its last launch test flight Monday morning, and is now sitting on the launch pad with more fuel being injected.

It is scheduled to blast off into orbit at a time between October 15-17. A source told chinadaily.com.cn that Shenzhou 5 will most probably take off in the morning of October 15. China's top leaders including President Hu Jintao and chairman of the Central Military Commission Jiang Zemin are expected to watch the flight at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, in northwest China's Gansu Province.

On Tuesday, the sole astronaut for China's first manned space bid will be selected from a final pool of three candidates, Chinese newspapers said. The spaceship will be sent into orbit by the Long March series rocket, also developed by Chinese scientists. The mission is meant to orbit the earth 14 times in 23 hours before returning.

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Editor:Xiao  Source:China Daily