China launches two astronauts into space
A rocket carrying the Shenzhou 6 capsule and the astronauts blasted off Wednesday morning from the remote base in China?s northwest. In a break with the space agency?s typical secrecy, the launch was shown live on Chinese state television. The three minute launch can be seen by visiting the link below.
The mission, reportedly due to last up to five days, is a key prestige project for China?s communist leaders, who have justified the expense of a manned space program by saying that it will drive economic development. It will be more complicated than the first flight in 2003, which carried one astronaut and lasted just 21 1/2 hours. China, the third nation to put a man into orbit, insisted ahead of the launch that its aspirations in space were strictly peaceful and that it opposes deploying weapons there. Space officials say they hope to land an unmanned probe on the moon by 2010 and launch a space station.
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