The manned aerospace project's landing field system was activated after the Shenzhou VI spacecraft blasted off Wednesday morning, in case of the return capsule's emergency landing.

The system, instead of being started when the craft returns and lands, begins operation when Shenzhou VI lifted off at 9:00 AM. Wednesday, as the spaceship may run into emergency and have to return at any stage during its flight, said Hou Ying, chief designer of the landing field system.

The system consists of five sub-systems, including main and auxiliary landing field sub-system, landing emergency rescue sub-system, off-shore emergency rescue sub-system, communication sub-system and astronaut medical care sub-system.

Based on estimated failure possibilities of the spacecraft and geographical conditions of the seven provinces it flies over during ascending, four landing emergency rescue stations are set up in Jiuquan, Yinchuan, Yulin and Handan in northwest and north China and three off-shore rescue stations in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

"What the seven rescue stations do is to deal with emergencies during the 10-minute-odd ascending," Hou said, adding they have spent two years on preparation to ensure the safety of the astronauts.

Most emergency rescue stations were closed after the spacecraft entered the preset orbit soundly.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2005)