China's taikonauts get hero title at celebration (Xinhua) Updated: 2005-11-26 10:28
Top Chinese leaders attended a gathering Saturday morning to celebrate the
country's successful manned space flight in mid-October.
The leaders met with two astronauts who orbited the earth aboard
Shenzhou-VI, as well as professionals and officials involved in the space
mission at the Great Hall of the People.
A video grab from China's Central Television
shows Fei Junlong, one of the astronauts who orbited the earth aboard
Shenzhou VI, saluting before a speech during a celebration in the
Great Hall of the People in Beijing Saturday, November 26, 2005.
[Xinhua] | Shenzhou VI lifted off on a Long March
2F carrier rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Oct. 12 for a five-day
mission carrying astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng.
Photo dated October 2005 shows Chinese
austronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng at the Shenzhou VI space
capsule's landing site in northern China.
[Xinhua/file] | Having two crew on board is a
departure from October 2003, when Yang Liwei spent 21 hours on a s mission that
made China only the third country after the United States and former Soviet
Union to achieve the feat.
President awards medals, certificates
to taikonauts
Chinese President Hu Jintao awarded metals and achievement certificates to
taikonauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng at a meeting in Beijing on Saturday.
Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong (R) and Nie
Haisheng (L) pose with Chinese President Hu Jintao (Center) after
receiving recognition during a ceremony to mark the successful conclusion
of October's Shenzhou VI manned mission in the Great Hall of the People in
Beijing, China, Saturday, Nov 26, 2005.
[AP] | More than 3,000 people gathered at the
Great Hall of the People on Saturday to mark the success of the Shenzhou VI
mission.
The title of "Hero Taikonaut" and the medals of "Space Flight
Achievement" were designed to honor the two taikongauts' great achievement
during the Shenzhou VI spaceflight, China's first ever multi-person and
multi-day manned space mission.
Aerospace workers have cultivated a spirit of "being especially capable of
bearing hardships, fighting, tackling key problems and making contributions"
since China's manned space flight program was initiated 13 years ago, Hu
said.
Chinese astronaut Fei Junlong, right, looks on
as Nie Haisheng, left, receives an award from Chinese President Hu Jintao
during a ceremony to mark the successful conclusion of last month's
Shenzhou 6 manned mission at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing,
China, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2005. [AP] | Hu also
praised the workers for their love of the motherland, sense of team work and
quality of not seeking fame and wealth.
The spirit should be carried
forward when we are endeavoring to build a well-off society and pressing ahead
with socialist modernization, the president said.
China's manned spaceflight engineering have reached the advanced level of the
world, said Hu.
Hu said China has already formed a set of
scientific management theories and practices that confirm with the actual
conditions and China's manned spaceflight undertakings.
Addressing a grand gathering in Beijing celebrating China's successful manned
space flight in mid-October, Hu called the mission of Shenzhou-VI a "song of
triumph" in the course of the Chinese nation's revitalization.
It was another big contribution made by the Chinese people to the humankind's
peaceful use of outer space, Hu claimed. He said all the Chinese feel "great
pride and honor" at the event.
In the name of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Central Committee, State
Council and Central Military Commission, Hu expressed high consideration for
people throughout the country, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan
compatriots, as well as overseas Chinese, for their strong support and care for
China's space development cause.
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