Mission commander hails 'glorious mission, full of challenges, with a perfect result'
Three Chinese astronauts returned safely to Earth yesterday after a 68-hour voyage and the country's first spacewalk.
The Shenzhou VII spacecraft's re-entry module parachuted down onto the Inner Mongolian steppe just before 5.40pm, concluding China's third successful manned spaceflight in five years.
Doctors rushed to check astronauts Zhai Zhigang , Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng as they emerged from the module, readjusted to gravity and recovered from the punishing re-entry.
'It was a glorious mission, full of challenges, with a perfect result. I'm proud of my country,' Colonel Zhai, the mission commander, said. He wrote his name into the history books on Saturday with a 19-minute spacewalk which made China the third country after the US and Russia to achieve the feat.
All three astronauts looked relaxed, with big smiles on their faces. The control centre announced later, after extensive physical checks, that all three were in very good condition.