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China puts man in space

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE Oct. 15. Raising visions of a new space odyssey, China today successfully put an astronaut in orbit around the earth. The astronaut, Yang Liwei, who greeted the people of the world with a `hello' from his spaceship, Shenzhou V, will return to earth tomorrow after completing 14 orbits and performing scientific tasks. China thus joined the elite club of Russia and the U.S. as a highly skilled space-faring nation.

The Chinese President, Hu Jintao, who witnessed the launch at the site, hailed the flight as the "millennial dream''. Shenzhou V (`Divine Vessel V') blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China's northwestern Gansu province at 9 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Wednesday, and exactly 10 minutes later, entered precisely into the pre-set orbit, Beijing said. The initial elliptical orbit had a perigee of 200 km. and an apogee of 343 km., it was said. At about 9.30 a.m., the astronaut, a lieutenant colonel of the People's Liberation Army, spoke to his doctor.

According to the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Centre, Mr. Yang's first words from outer space were: "I feel good, and my conditions are normal.''

The feel-good factor in this space mission was felt across China and among people around the world with a feel for man's destiny in space.

At 3.57 p.m., the spacecraft completed an orbit shift, as the controllers propelled the vessel into a circular orbit of 343 km. from the earth.

The Defence Minister, Cao Gangchuan, spoke to the astronaut during which Mr. Yang conveyed his real-time greetings to the people across the world. He also said that he would "ensure the full success of the mission'', it was reported. Mr. Hu earlier asked Mr. Yang to perform the "glorious, sacred mission'' in the spirit of a `warrior' exploring the outer space on behalf of China. "We are waiting for your triumphant return,'' he told Mr. Yang before the final preparations for the launch began.

Legend has it that China's space dream began with the fairy tale about a woman flying to the moon after taking some medicine with magical potency and stayed as the Moon Goddess, it was recalled today.

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