China has finally launched a manned rocket into earth orbit. While details are few so long as the ultimate success of the flight is still be determined, China has finally done what the USSR/Russians and USA have been doing for forty years. In so doing; the have become the third nation (out of three) to take on a manned spaceflight program.

The Chinese spacecraft, named the Shenzhou-5, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite launch Center in the NW province of Gansu at 0900, Wednesday. The launch vehicle, itself, was a well-known rocket, China's Long March II F, crewed by a single "Taikonaut," revealed to be a Lt. Col Yang Liwei, 38, of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

According to Chinese media sources, Yang was born in June 1965 in Suizhong County of NE China's Liaoning Province and joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army at 18. He graduated from the No. 8 Aviation College of the PLA Air Force in 1987 with a bachelor's degree and became a fighter pilot. He is a 1350 hour pilot and became a member of China's first group of astronauts in January of 1998. Liwei earns all of $1200 a month for his efforts.

This flight came after four previous unmanned tests of the launch vehicle and capsule that lasted as long as a week before their recovery/landing by parachute. The current flight is expected to take some 20 hours. Surprisingly; after a week of hype by the Chinese government leading up to the actual launch, the event was not broadcast live by Chinese television.

In 1995, after a series of live television broadcasts of various satellite tests, one launch went awry, killing six people on the ground -- apparently a contributing factor to Chinese official's current reluctance in broadcasting this historic event on live television.

FMI: www.fas.org/spp/guide/china/agency/cnsa.htm