After months of anticipation and speculation, it's official: Two Chinese astronauts - Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng are scheduled to start orbiting the Earth aboard the Shenzhou VI spacecraft this morning.

Fei Junlong (left), Nie Haisheng have been selected to pilot the Shenzhou VI spacecraft. China plans to launch its 2nd manned space mission this morning. [Xinhua]

The spacecraft will blast off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Northwest China's Gansu Province for "multiple days of flights" .

The two astronauts, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, have entered the capsule of spacecraft Shenzhou-6. They bound themselves to the seats and connected the wires of their spacesuits to the spacecraft, among other preparations for the launch, Xinhua News Agency said.

In the next few days of space flight, they will, for the first time, move from the return module into the orbital module of the 9.2-meter-long Shenzhou-6, where some laboratory tests will be conducted.

The Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center has got ready for the launch and everything was going on well.

After a rigorous screening process from a pool of 14 former fighter-jet pilots, Fei and Nie have been chosen for today's mission.

The two are both air force pilots, like China's first spaceman Yang Liwei.

Fei, 40, is from Kunshan, East China's Jiangsu Province. He was selected as one of the five astronaut candidates in intensified training for China's first manned space flight -- Shenzhou-5, which blast into space in October 2003.

Nie, 41, is from Zaoyang, Central China's Hubei Province. He was selected as one of the three finalists for Shenzhou-5. The other two were Yang Liwei and Zhai Zhigang.

Premier Wen Jiabao had a brief meeting with the two Chinese astronauts early Wednesday and wished them success.

In Jiuquan Tuesday, before the final result revealed, the two and 4 other astronaut candidates made a public appearance at a press conference.

"We have the confidence and ability to fulfil this glorious task. Our only wish is to make the mission a complete success," Fei said while Nie added: "Life in space is full of mysteries."

Earlier reports said that if all goes according to plan, the spacecraft would touch down at the main landing field in the central part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in five days.

In addition to learning more about manned space flights, the mission will conduct scientific experiments, including those "involving human participation", Wang Yongzhi, chief designer of China's manned spaceflight programme, said yesterday

China's first astronaut Yang Liwei was confined to his seat in the re-entry module for the 21-hour flight two years ago, meaning the experiments conducted then were without human participation. On Shenzhou VI, however, the astronauts can move from the spaceship's re-entry module to the orbital module to do scientific tests.

China's second manned spacecraft Shenzhou VI is ready for liftoff by the Long March CZ-2F rocket at the launch tower of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Shenzhou VI spacecraft will be carried to the outer space by the Long March CZ-2F rocket. [Xinhua]

"The mission holds out the promise of making more discoveries," Wang said in Jiuquan, adding that China's space programme was developed for peaceful use of space resources.

Xu Dazhe, deputy chief of the China Space and Technology Group, said yesterday: "We are willing to co-operate with other countries in conducting research activities and exploring space resources for the benefit of mankind."

With the Shenzhou VI mission, scientists expect to make further improvements based on the evaluation of the performance of various parts of the current craft, Wang said.

The Shenzhou VI has been made more comfortable and human-friendly compared with the country's first manned spacecraft, where Yang could only nap, and snack on specially-prepared food.

This time, a food heater, dishware and a sleeping bag are available in the orbital module. An excrement-collecting facility is being used for first time, according to Zhang Bainan, chief designer of the spacecraft system.

In addition, the black box of Shenzhou VI is 100 times larger in storage capacity, 10 times quicker in information writing and reading, but only half the size of the previous version.

Spending on the Shenzhou series has reached roughly 19 billion yuan (US$2.3 billion), less than 10 per cent of the annual spending on space programmes in the United States, Pan Houren, a researcher with the Space Science and Application Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said yesterday.

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