Shanghai, Oct 09: Chinese astronauts are in the final stages of preparing for a manned space mission that will orbit the globe 14 times before returning to Earth, a state-run newspaper reported today. The launch, expected to take place sometime this month, initially will send a manned craft, the Shenzhou 5 into an orbit at 200 kms from Earth. After making several orbits, the ship will enter an orbit at about 560 kms from earth, the liberation daily reported, citing "relevant channels."

Various and sometimes conflicting reports in the state media have generated some confusion over the details of the planned launch.

State-run television and other media, citing senior officials in China's space program, reported that china would send its first person into space on Oct 15 for a single-orbit, 90-minute flight.

The launch will take place during daytime, said the report in the liberation daily. It did not say how long the mission would last, but gave some details on the candidates for the single-person mission.


The final three candidates were chosen from a group of 12 highly experienced fighter pilots. All have been training for six years, it said.
If successful, China would become the world's third spacefaring nation. Only the United States and the former Soviet Union, now Russia, have sent manned craft into space.

Bureau Report