Chinese astronauts return to flowers, cheers

BEIJING – Shown live on state television, the two astronauts emerged from their kettle-shaped capsule, grinning and waving in the predawn darkness. They climbed down a ladder and accepted bouquets of flowers from their cheering retrieval crew.

The Shenzhou 6 space capsule landed early today in China’s northern grasslands, ending the country’s second manned space mission the way it began – in a blaze of publicity meant to rouse support for the ruling Communist Party.

“This will further improve the country’s international status and national strength, and will help to mobilize its people to rally around the Communist Party and work harder for the future of the country,” said Wu Bangguo, the party’s No. 2 leader, who watched the landing from a Beijing control center.

Heavy state media coverage of the mission, including live telecasts of the liftoff and landing, was a striking change from China’s first manned space mission in 2003, none of which was broadcast live.

The astronauts, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, blasted off Wednesday from a base in the desert northwest, almost exactly two years after China became only the third country to send a human into orbit on its own, after Russia and the United States.

Communist leaders apparently hope the greater openness will stir patriotic pride, shoring up their standing at a time of public frustration at corruption, wrenching economic change and a growing gap between the country’s rich and poor.

Today, state television showed technicians at the Beijing control center, once a closely guarded secret. The technicians displayed no reaction when an announcer said the capsule had landed, but broke into cheers after word came that the astronauts were safe.

Shenzhou 6 flew 2 million miles in 115 hours and 32 minutes in space, Xinhua said.

Chinese leaders have defended the space program’s expense, saying it will help to drive economic and technological development.