BEIJING, Oct 16: China completed its first manned space flight on Thursday when the Shenzhou V capsule with astronaut Yang Liwei returned safely to Earth, sparking celebrations and a pledge of a new mission within two years.

The capsule landed at 6.23am (3.23am PST) just 4.8 kilometres off target in the vast grasslands of the Inner Mongolia region, 300 kilometres northwest of Beijing.

Lieutenant Colonel Yang, 38, was in good health and the Beijing Space Command and Control Centre and Premier Wen Jiabao announced the mission a “complete success”.

Mr Yang exited the capsule on his own, looking dazed, and was seen on television waving following his 21-hour flight that covered 600,000 kilometres.

He was immediately steered to a chair outside the module and was carried through a large crowd of jostling officials and media to a nearby van for a medical check-up before being flown by helicopter to Beijing.

“I feel proud of my motherland,” Yang Liwei said soon after landing. “The spacecraft operated normally. I felt very good.”

Premier Wen congratulated him by telephone on behalf of government and military officials.

China’s leaders had much riding on a successful mission, hoping it would promote patriotism, national cohesion and legitimacy for its rule and state-run television devoted extensive coverage to the “glorious” return.

Xie Mingbao, director of the China Manned Space Programme’s office, told a news conference another Shenzhou mission would be launched “in one to two years time”.—AFP