Chinese spacecraft enters circular orbit

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

Beijing, 15 October: China’s first manned spacecraft Shenzhou V completed orbit shift Wednesday [15 October] afternoon, according to a report by astronaut Yang Liwei and the ground monitoring result. The Shenzhou V, which blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 9 a.m. Wednesday, entered an elliptic orbit with a perigee of 200 km and an apogee of 343 km.

During the orbit shift, the spaceship was propelled into a circular orbit of 343 km from the Earth, the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Centre announced, adding that this step is essential for the spaceship’s on-track flight and accurate landing.

The Shenzhou V, with Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Lt- Col Yang Liwei on board, entered its preset orbit about 10 minutes after the launch, making China the third nation to send a man into outer space following the former Soviet Union and the United States.