Posted: Sun, Dec 29, 2002, 2:09 PM ET (1909 GMT)
A Long March booster has launched Shenzhou 4, a prototype of China's manned spacecraft, Chinese media reported Sunday. The Long March 2F booster carrying Shenzhou 4 lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center in northwestern China late Sunday night; a People's Daily article quotes times of 9:15 am and 11:40 am EST (1415 and 1640 GMT) for the launch. The report said only that the spacecraft "entered its preset orbit." An article this weekend in the Chinese newspaper Wen Wei Po, reported by SpaceDaily on Sunday, claimed that the Shenzhou 4 launch was imminent. The launch is the fourth unmanned test of the Shenzhou spacecraft, with previous test flights in November 1999, January 2001, and March 2002. Western experts believe that, if Shenzhou 4 is successful, China will follow up with its first human space flight some time in 2003.

Related Links:

•  People's Daily article
•  SpaceDaily pre-launch article