China- First astronaut back safely

JIUQUAN, China -- China's first astronaut in space returned safely to Earth on Thursday when his craft touched down on time and as planned after 21 hours in orbit, the government said. China's mission control declared the country's landmark debut flight "a success."

The craft carrying Yang Liwei touched down on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia in northern China as planned at dawn today, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Minutes later, he emerged from the capsule and waved at rescuers, according to images broadcast by state television.

"The landing is successful," a China Central Television correspondent said. The station released an image of the capsule. The country's premier immediately spoke to Lt. Col. Yang Liwei and offered his congratulations.

Shenzhou 5 landed at 6:28 a.m., the government said.

The government said his condition was "good," and the Web site Sina.com said he would undergo an immediate physical exam.

The landing came after a 21-hour mission in which Shenzhou 5 orbited the Earth 14 times. Though the government has been very secretive about its space program, it offered frequent glimpses of Yang throughout the trip and repeatedly said everything was going fine.

The completion of the mission was the crowning achievement of an 11-year, military-linked manned space program promoted as a symbol of national prestige both at home and abroad.

Helicopters and trucks rushed to retrieve Yang. Earlier reports said the astronaut would be armed with knives and possibly a gun to protect himself against wild animals and other threats in the Inner Mongolian grasslands where the ship was to touch down.

Xinhua said the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center sent a message at about 5:35 a.m. today to Shenzhou 5 instructing it to return as planned. Shenzhou 5, shown on a three-dimensional screen in the mission control center, made a gentle turnaround upon receiving the order, Xinhua said.

While in orbit, Yang spoke to his family, telling them it looked "splendid" in space. He also had a conversation with the country's defense minister, unfurled the flags of China and the United Nations and took a nap.

Yang, an astronaut since 1998, was picked for the flight from three finalists. They have trained for years, and the field was narrowed from 14 in recent weeks. His trip came after four test flights, beginning in 1999, of unmanned Shenzhou capsules.

China has had a rocketry program since the 1950s. It launched a manned space program in the 1970s amid the political upheaval of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution but later abandoned it. The program was relaunched in 1992 under the code name Project 921.

The budget for the program is secret, but foreign experts say it totals at least $1 billion -- a major commitment for China, where the average person makes $700 a year.