BY SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Follow the flight of the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft on China's first manned spaceflight. Reload this page for regular updates on the mission.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2003
0030 GMT (8:30 p.m. EDT Wed.)

Wrapping up a historic day in space, the Shenzhou 5 return capsule parachuted to a soft touchdown today, bringing to an end China's first manned voyage into space and opening the door for a wide variety of future plans in the final frontier. Read our full story.

0007 GMT (8:07 p.m. EDT Wed.)

Yang Liwei is now being flown to Beijing and will arrive there in two hours, CCTV reports.

The new Chinese hero says he is very proud of China, feels physically fit and his spacecraft worked well.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2003
2335 GMT (7:35 p.m. EDT)

The first clear television pictures from the landing site show Yang Liwei climbing out of the Shenzhou-5 capsule. The 38-year-old veteran fighter pilot looked wobbly on his feet and appeared a little dazed as the recovery team fought to hold back well-wishers.

Yang was carried in his seat through the cheering crowd to a waiting vehicle.

2311 GMT (7:11 p.m. EDT)

Chinese media report the landing occurred at 2223 GMT, 4.8 kilometers from the target area.

2308 GMT (7:08 p.m. EDT)

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing has spoken to Yang Liwei from the mission control center to offer the nation's congratulation on his successful return to Earth.

New pictures from the landing site show Yang sitting, surrounded by members of the recovery team.

2303 GMT (7:03 p.m. EDT)

Heavily compressed video from the landing site is being shown on Chinese television networks. Although quite blurred, the images show astronaut Yang Liwei waving from the hatch of the descent module.

2255 GMT (6:55 p.m. EDT)

The first pictures from the landing site show the descent capsule lying on its side in the predawn twilight.

2254 GMT (6:54 p.m. EDT)

Mission control in Beijing has declared the flight of Shenzhou-5 a success.

2250 GMT (6:50 p.m. EDT)

Reports from the landing site said Yang Liwei is out of the Shenzhou-5 descent capsule and in good spirits.

2245 GMT (6:45 p.m. EDT)

Yang Liwei is in good health after his historic 21-hour space mission according to the recovery team at the landing site in central Inner Mongolia.

2243 GMT (6:43 p.m. EDT)

The state-run Xinhua news agency reports China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, has returned safely.

2240 GMT (6:40 p.m. EDT)

China's Shenzhou-5 has landed in the grasslands of central Inner Mongolia. Initial reports indicate the descent module is intact. No word yet on the condition of the country's first astronaut, Yang Liwei.

2238 GMT (6:38 p.m. EDT)

Shenzhou-5, with astronaut Yang Liwei aboard, has touched down on target in Inner Mongolia, according to Chinese media reports. Five helicopters are approaching the landing site.

2235 GMT (6:35 p.m. EDT)

If all went according to plan Shenzhou-5 should be on the ground by now. We are awaiting confirmation of landing from the Chinese authorities.

2219 GMT (6:19 p.m. EDT)

Chinese media report the Shenzhou-5 capsule is descending under its parachute and mission control is in radio contact with astronaut Yang Liwei.

2209 GMT (6:09 p.m. EDT)

The Shenzhou-5 spacecraft has entered Chinese airspace according to reports from a telemetry station at Hotan in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in northwest China.

2200 GMT (6:00 p.m. EDT)

Shenzhou-5 has fired its braking rockets to begin its return to earth and has separated from the orbital and propulsion modules.

2143 GMT (5:43 p.m. EDT)

Shenzhou-5 has started maneuvers to begin its return to Earth, according to the Xinhua news agency.

A rocket firing to slow down the craft and drop it out of orbit will be followed by the separation of the orbital module and propulsion modules from the descent capsule.

2125 GMT (5:25 p.m. EDT)

It's early morning in Beijing and there has been little new information released by the Chinese authorities overnight about the progress of the Shenzhou-5 mission.

If calculations by western space experts are correct, landing should now be about one hour away at approximately 2225 GMT (6:25 p.m. EDT).

1735 GMT (1:35 p.m. EDT)

Favorable weather is forecast for the return to Earth of Yang Liwei according to meterologists at the landing site in Inner Mongolia.

The Shenzhou-5 descent capsule is expected to touchdown between 2200-2300 GMT (6-7 p.m. EDT), landing near Siziwang, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the Inner Mongolian capital Hohhot, after a 14-orbit, 21-hour flight

Temperatures are forecast to be betweeen minus 4-8 degrees Celsius. No clouds are expected below 1000 metres, ground winds will be 4-6 metres per second, winds at low altitude will be below 300 metres per second and at high altitude winds will be less than 70 metres per second. Visibility will be better then 10 kilometres and there is no rain or snow in the forecast.

"The weather conditions over the landing site will meet all the requirements for the return of the re-entry module of Shenzhou-5 spacecraft," said Wang Yongsheng, director of the meteorological station at the landing station.

1724 GMT (1:24 p.m. EDT)

In Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Michael Foale is making final preparations to launch to the International Space Station this weekend. He offered his congratulations to the Chinese on today's successful liftoff.

"I think it's a tremendous indication that human history is moving forward. I do believe other nations will take note of what China has started to accomplish today," the British-born astronaut said.

"Do I see China as a potential rival? Yes, not only in space, but already commercially, economically. I think militarily it's also a possibility."

1700 GMT (1:00 p.m. EDT)

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and U.S. astronaut Ed Lu were informed about the successful launch of China's Shenzhou-5 earlier today, soon after they woke to begin their 172nd day aboard the International Space Station.

"I want to congratulate them. Personally, I think it is a great thing, the more people that go into space, the better we all are. It is a great achievement and I think it will be good for everyone in the long run," said Lu, the Expedition 7 flight engineer and NASA science officer.

"I would also like to say I like to have somebody else in space instead of me and Ed. Also, I know it is great work [of] thousands and thousands of people from China. I congratulate all of them. And good luck for landing today," added Malenchenko, Expedition 7 commander.

Speaking in chinese, Lu also gave messages of "Welcome to space" and "Have a safe journey and I wish you success".

Back on Earth, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued the following statement through his official spokesman:

"The Secretary-General extends his warm congratulations to the People's Republic of China on its first mission into space, and hopes for the safe and successful completion of this maiden voyage. He notes that as the exploration of space knows no national borders, the mission of the Shenzhou V is a step forward for all humankind."

1350 GMT (9:50 a.m. EDT)

The Chinese media has published accounts of Yang Liwei's conversation with his family earlier today.

"I'm feeling very good in space, and it looks extremely splendid around here," he told his wife Zhang Yumei, who also works in the Chinese space program.

Speaking with his eight-year-old son, he said: "I caught the sight of our beautiful home [the Earth] and recorded all what I've seen here."

The astronaut also displayed the five-star national flag of China and a United Nations flag during a television broadcast from space that appeared on the front screens in mission control.

1255 GMT (8:55 a.m. EDT)

Within the last hour, China's Yang Liwei has called his family in Beijing from his orbiting Shenzhou spacecraft, according to Chinese media reports.

1100 GMT (7:00 a.m. EDT)

Yang Liwei, on his sixth orbit of Earth aboard Shenzhou-5, has spoken with China's defence minister Cao Gangchuan.

Liwei, a 38-year-old lieutenant colonel in the People's Liberation Army, could be seen aboard the capsule on screens at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center during the conversation.

"On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission. I would like to send my warmest regards to you and show my gratitude for your great contribution to our nation's space mission," Cao said.

"I will strive to complete my tasks well and ensure the full success of the mission," Yang told Cao.

Yang also offered greetings to people around the world, according to Chinese media reports.

1020 GMT (6:20 a.m. EDT)

China's President Hu Jintao has hailed the success of the Shenzhou 5 launch as "an honor for our great motherland, an indicator for the initial victory of the country's first manned space flight and for a historic step taken by the Chinese people in their endeavour to surmount the peak of the world's science and technology."

The president, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, witnessed Wednesday's launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

"The Party and the people will never forget those who have set up this outstanding merit in the space industry for the motherland,the people and the nation." said Hu.

0820 GMT (4:20 a.m. EDT)

Recovery teams are searching a vast area downrange of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center looking for a "black box" that recorded telemetry that could not be transmitted to Earth during the launch of Shenzhou 5 aboard a Long March 2F rocket, according to the Xinhua news agency. An 800 kilometer swathe from the Badain Jaran Desert in Inner Mongolia to Yulin Prefecture in Shanxi Province in north China will be searched for the recorder and other debris from rocket. The so-called black box was housed in the first stage of the launcher.

Meanwhile, Xinhua also reports that three recovery ships, Beihai No.102, De Kun and De Yi, have been ordered to return to port following the successful launch. The news agency said the vessels would have been used should the Shenzhou-5 have made an emergency splashdown in the ocean due to a malfunction during launch. The report did not disclose where the ships were stationed.

0700 GMT (3:00 a.m. EDT)

The Xinhua news agency reports that China's first space traveller, Yang Liwei, has taken a rest and eaten a traditional Chinese meal of diced chicken with rice cooked with "nuts dates and other delicacies." A drink of "medicinal herbs and tonics" is also on the astronaut's menu. The agency reports that he will take another three-hour break on the spacecraft's 9th and 10th orbits.

The Shenzhou 5 spacecraft is equipped with a sleeping bag attached to the wall of its orbital module compartment.

0400 GMT (12:00 a.m. EDT)

According to the Xinhua news agency China's first words from space were "I feel good". The nation's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, radioed the words to mission control 34 minutes after lifting off aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft.

Yang is expected to return to Earth, landing near Siziwang, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the Inner Mongolian capital Hohhot, after a 14-orbit, 21-hour flight.

0200 GMT (10:00 p.m. EDT)

The NASA Administrator has offered his congratulations on China's historic first manned spaceflight in a written statement issued by the space agency from its Washington D.C. Headquarters:

"This launch is an important achievement in the history of human exploration. China, after Russia and the United States, is only the third nation to successfully launch humans into space.

"The Chinese people have a long and distinguished history of exploration. NASA wishes China a continued safe human space flight program.".

0145 GMT (9:45 p.m. EDT Tues.)

Over a decade in the making and four decades behind the Soviet Union and United States, China became only the third nation on the planet to mount a manned space mission Wednesday when a single crewman vaulted into space inside a capsule for a one-day flight. Read our full story.

0134 GMT (9:34 p.m. EDT Tues.)

Reuters is reporting, based on China state television, that Shenzhou 5 and pilot Yang Liwei achieved orbit 10 minutes after liftoff from the Gobi desert launch base.

Liftoff is now believed to have occurred at 0100 GMT (9 p.m. EDT).

The mission is expected to last 21 hours as the capsule orbits the Earth some 14 times.

0107 GMT (9:07 p.m. EDT Tues.)

News reports say the manned Shenzhou 5 mission is underway! The exact time that liftoff occurred is not yet confirmed.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2003
2305 GMT (7:05 p.m. EDT)

Chinese media is reporting that launch of Shenzhou 5 aboard the Long March 2F rocket is scheduled for 0106 GMT (9:06 p.m. EDT) tonight.

It is also believed that Yang Liwei will be the lone crewmember on this historic first Chinese manned spaceflight.

1200 GMT (8:00 a.m. EDT)

China's CCTV, the state-run network that was to cover the Shenzhou-5 launch live, said it has cancelled those plans on the advice of "aerospace experts". A replay of the launch is expected later.

China's President Hu Jintao and other members of the communist party Politburo are expected to attend the launch from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the province of Inner Mongolia.

0401 GMT (12:01 a.m. EDT)

If all goes according to plan, China will join one of the most exclusive international clubs this week when the country's much-awaited inaugural manned flight is expected to blast off from its space base in a remote part of the communist nation.

Liftoff of the Long March 2F rocket is expected between Wednesday and Friday from a specially-built launch pad at the Jiuquan launching center in the Gobi desert, located in the northern part of China. Official media reports say the pad is located in the Chinese Gansu province, however space experts indicate the site is just across the border with Inner Mongolia.

The launch could be as early as 9 a.m. Wednesday, Beijing time (0100 GMT or 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday), according to some reports. The official Xinhua news agency has only said the prestigious mission will begin "at an appropriate time."

Read our launch preview story.