China is set to send its yuhangyuan ("astronaut") into space in October with the liftoff to occur by the middle of the month, Wen Wei Po in Hong Kong reports today (Sept. 15).
Unidentified sources told the newspaper that the countdown to launch the historic manned Shenzhou-5 mission (SZ-5, Shenzhou means "Divine Vessel" or "Magic Vessel") would enter the one month mark as of today.
Chinese space officials have decided that the launch would happen after the week long celebration of the National Day on Oct. 1. However, no specific launch date will be chosen until after the holiday.
Unconfirmed information from the Xi'an Satellite Control Centre (XSCC) in Shaanxi Province said that the single-person mission might see its launch on Oct. 10.
Both SZ-5 and its Changzheng-2F (Long March-2F) launcher arrived at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) in the northwestern Gansu Province in
