Shenzhou Solos

China's first manned space flight initiates a People's Liberation Army effort to explore the utility of Chinese military personnel in space, while also using the Shenzhou development to propel technologies important to future PLA programs, U.S. defense analysts said.

The PLA-led flight will also, at least temporarily, boost the army's prestige in Chinese government circles where political combat simmers between military and civilian leadership in the Chinese Communist Party. The PLA designation for the effort is Project 921.

"I will not disappoint the motherland. I will gain honor for the People's Liberation Army and the Chinese nation," China's first astronaut, air force Lt. Col. Yang Liwei, 38, said at the Jiuquan launch site just before the mission. Yang is a fighter pilot with 1,350 flight hours who was picked as a Chinese astronaut in 1998. His 9 a.m. launch on Oct. 15 was followed by a dawn reentry and landing 21 hr. 23 min. later 600 mi. east of the Gobi desert launch area.

In addition to the overall project's military foundation, the Shenzhou program is also intended to show the Chinese populace that the Communist Party can lead the country on the world stage, begin to exploit space cooperation for international political gain and inspire a younger generation of high-tech Chinese with the lure of space achievement.