Shenzhou VI liftoff set for 12 October

There may be a short delay if weather conditions are not favourable. The space mission will take five days. Only national media agencies were given the opportunity to cover the event; the rest were denied access. For the first time, there will be a two-man crew.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – China's second space mission will take off on 12 October at 9am from a deserted region in Inner Mongolia, official sources said.

The liftoff of the spacecraft Shenzhou VI [divine naval vessel ndr] was scheduled for Thursday 13 October but the date was put forward in line with atmospheric forecasts and it may be put off if the weather is not favourable.

Rigid security measures have been put in a place in a 30km radius around the Jiuquan space centre in Gansu province, and only those working on the project have been allowed access. Full television coverage is planned, but only Chinese journalists have been given the green light: the rest are banned, including those from Hong Kong. Journalists allowed in are not allowed to use the internet, mobile phones or any equipment with cameras.

The craft will launch into oval orbit with an altitude of between 200 and 347km and then it will set into circular orbit.

The names of the two astronauts who will go to space have not been announced as yet. Six have been shortlisted. This is the second time Chinese astronauts go to space, after the Shenzhou V mission was completed successfully in 2003, with astronaut Yang Liwei on board. That mission lasted 21 hours. This time, the spacecraft voyage will take 119 hours and scientific experiments are planned, many of them designed to check the human physical reactions to microgravity conditions in space, according to Wang Yongzhi, who runs the space programme. The spacecraft will return to Inner Mongolia.

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