Shenzhou V launch successful 2003

Yang is expected to land somewhere on the grassland in the central part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, north China, after orbiting the Earth 14 times.

Before being selected as the member of China's first batch of would-be astronauts, Yang, a native of Suizhong County, northeast China's Liaoning Province, is a veteran fighter pilot of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force whose flight experience reached 1,350 hours.

In 1998, Yang and 13 other PLA fighter pilots were selected from 1,500 candidates to form the country's first team of would-be astronauts.

Su Shuangning, director-general of the astronaut system under China's manned space program, noted that all would-be astronauts have become capable of working and living in space after receiving tough physical, psychological and technical training in the past five years.

Gu Yidong told Xinhua that the manned space program's ultimate goal for China was to explore outer space and make a good use of the rich resources of space.

Gu said human civilization is moving forward step by step with mankind's domain expanding gradually from land to ocean, to sky and finally to outer space, adding that outer space exploration has turned out to be an important driving force for mankind's economic and social development.