Chinese military send their first man into orbit

China's first ever astronaut is scheduled to return to Earth at about 0600 Chinese time on Thursday (2200 GMT, Wednesday), after 21 hours orbiting the Earth. The parachute-assisted landing should bring the Shenzhou V ('divine vessel') spacecraft carrying Yang Liwei to touch down in the Gobi desert.

China became only the third nation to send a man into space when 38-year-old lieutenant colonel Yang was launched at 0100 GMT on Wednesday. His craft entered orbit 10 minutes later.

Yang passed the halfway mark of his historic mission at 1040 GMT by completing seven out of 14 Earth orbits. He spoke with family members via a video link-up and is reported to have slept for three hours and enjoyed two space meals.

The feat was acclaimed as 'an historic step' by China's president and warmly praised by US and European space agencies, despite essentially duplicating what the US and the former Soviet Union did 42 years ago. The launch has already triggered suggestions from some analysts of a new space race, while others warn that China's key interest in space may be military.

Read more @ New Scientist.