Shenzhou VII Returns Safely To Earth After Historic Spacewalk

BEIJING, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- China's latest space heroes with flight commander Zhai Zhigang, who performed the country's first space walk, hurled back to earth and landed safely in the central steppes of Inner Mongolia on Sunday evening.

Applause and cheers greeted the three-men crew whose mission was broadcast in great detail over local television since they powered off on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan satellite launch centre in northwestern Gansu Province on Thursday.

Millions of Chinese were riveted on the 'live' broadcast by state television as the re-entry module floated steadily down to earth, tied to a giant parachute, two days before China's 59th national anniversary.

Premier Wen Jiabao arrived at the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre more than an hour earlier before the capsule's anticipated return 5.44 pm and applauded heartily when it touched ground a few minutes ahead of schedule.

Underscoring the national pride and breakthrough feat, President Hu Jintao was at the Jiuquan centre to see the astronauts off and he was again at the Beijing centre to congratulate the crew, lauding them for a "great job" done.

Zhai and fellow crew, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng, were reported to be in fine shape after their 68-hour mission, and Zhai flashed a thumbs-up sign to the ground rescuers, according to state television, and stayed inside for a while to re-adapt to gravity.

State television showed a convoy of four-wheel vehicles speeding across the grassy plains towards the located capsule.

Three hundred search and rescue staff and six helicopters were mobilised for the landing and all five of China's satellite-tracking ships had been on standby in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans before Shenzhou VII took off.

Xinhua said the three astronauts will be quarantined for half a month.

"We can't see them during that period, but we can rest our hearts as long as they are on the earth," Zhai's wife, Zhang Shujing, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Zhai and fellow crew, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng, add to the list of Chinese astronauts who flew on successful manned flights, going back to solo pioneer Yang Liwei in 2003 and pair of Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng in 2005.

Yang, Fei and Nie all had asteroids named after them.

-- BERNAMA