DATE=11/21/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=CHINA-SPACE (L-O) NUMBER=2-256402 BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO DATELINE=BEIJING CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: China has announced the successful launch and return of its first unmanned spacecraft. As V-O-A's Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing, this puts China into a very exclusive club of countries that have gone into space. TEXT: Chinese President Jiang Zemin named the shuttle "Shenzhou" - which means "Divine Ship." Official media say it blasted off Saturday, on a new model of a Long March rocket, from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in nothwestern Gansu province. The craft touched down in the northern province of Inner Mongolia early Sunday morning. The state-run Xinhua news agency says the vehicle was in space for 21 hours and orbited the earth 14 times. The launch makes China the third nation to go into space, after the former Soviet Union and the United States. Xinhua quotes an unnamed official, with China's Manned Spaceflight Program, as saying China deserves to be known in the world as a high-tech country. He said China would conduct more unmanned test flights before putting astronauts into space. News of China's first step in an eventual manned space program is aimed at boosting national pride and championing the Chinese Communist Party, which just celebrated the 50th anniversary of its rule. In a series of reports on the flight, Xinhua emphasized that it will strengthen the country, promote science and technology, enhance national prestige and boost China's sense of pride. The state-run news agency, using the official description of the government, added that the Communist Party, with Jiang Zemin at the core, decided in 1992 to carry out China's own manned spaceflight project. (signed) NEB/HO/PLM 21-Nov-1999 00:18 AM EDT (21-Nov-1999 0518 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
