China launched its second manned space mission Wednesday, sending two astronauts into orbit as it opened a new chapter in its ambitious drive to become a global space power.
Shenzhou VI, based on Soviet Soyuz technology, lifted off on a Long March 2F carrier rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 9:00 am (0100 GMT) for a five-day mission, carrying air force pilots Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng.
It entered a fixed orbit 21 minutes later.
Having two crew on board is a departure from October 2003, when Yang Liwei spent 21 hours on a solo odyssey - a mission that made China only the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union to send a man into space.
"I feel good," said Fei in his first transmission from the craft.
TV images showed the two astronauts comfortably flipping and reading flight books after going into space. This indicated they felt at ease and more comfortable than first Chinese astronaut Yang, who felt a strong tremor about two minutes after lift-off, Xinhua said.
The astronauts left the re-entry capsule and entered the orbital capsule - a first for China - about nine hours after blastoff. Yang, China's first astronaut, was strapped down in the return capsule throughout his mission.
Xinhua called Wednesday's move a "significant breakthrough" for China. Fei and Nie are expected to conduct experiments and scientific research in the orbital capsule.
The craft is based on the robust and thoroughly tested Soviet design for the Soyuz vessel, and consists of three modules.
Spending on the Shenzhou series of launches has reached roughly 19 billion yuan (2.3 billion US dollars), less than 10 percent of the US annual spending on space programs, Xinhua quoted a space science researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences saying.