Chinese taikonauts return as heros after landmark spacewalk

Source: Xinhua | 09-28-2008 20:54

BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhou-7 space module carrying three taikonauts landed safely by parachute Sunday afternoon in China's northern grassland, after a landmark spacewalk mission that leads the country further in its space exploration.

Chinese taikonauts (front) salute after they get out of  Shenzhou-7 re-entry module after their safe landing in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sept. 28, 2008. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

Astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng came back from a 68-hour flight, which included a 20-minute spacewalk on Saturday.

"It was a glorious mission, full of challenges with a perfect result. I'm proud of my country," said spacewalker Zhai, sitting on a chair after emerging from the module. The trio exited the module by themselves after a brief medical check and adaptation to the Earth's gravitational environment.

Liu said "before taking off, I told you the Chinese taikonauts are the best. Thank the motherland and the people."

"We felt the care of the country and people in the abysmal space. Now we have safely returned," said Jing, followed by a military solute by the trio.

The taikonauts were welcomed with flower bouquets and Premier Wen Jiabao at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) were watching their return in a live transmission. Wen said the mission was "a victory of the Chinese space and technological field and a monumental achievement in the Socialist causes".

Wen shook hands with technicians and scientists at the center, telling them "This was no easy task at all  It was splendid. Keep up with the good work".

The taikonauts will be taken to a hospital in the Inner Mongolian capital Hohhot for medical examination and flown back to Beijing on Monday for a two-week quarantine.

The successful crusade marks a critical step in China's space quest -- it is now the third country in the world to attain a spacewalk. The only two other countries are the United States and Russia.

In what many hail as a "perfect walk", Zhai tread China's first "step" in the space. Donned in a 4-million-U.S. dollar homemade Feitian space suit, he spent 20 minutes outside the orbiter on Saturday afternoon, and excited tens of millions on the Earth when he waved a Chinese flag.

The spacecraft was blasted off at 9:10 p.m. on Thursday in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, where the country's first two manned space missions took off in 2003 and 2005.

It circled the earth 46 laps before descending on 1,000-square-meter parachute at Siziwang Banner in central Inner Mongolia at 5:37 p.m. Sunday, where 300 search and rescue staff waited.