Shenzhou II should pave the way for a manned flight within two years

The official Xinhua News Agency gave a mission progress report over the weekend, stating that the craft had circled the Earth 60 times during four days of smooth flying and had performed "hundreds of sophisticated manoeuvres".

The agency said the craft flew 13 oval orbits before being directed into a circular orbit on the 14th pass around the planet.

The Shenzhou I mission lasted just 21 hours. Another success with Shenzhou II should pave the way for further test flights and a manned mission within two years, western commentators believe.

Experimental craft

China has given little away about its space programme. And the latest Xinhua report merely listed the type of experiments the Shenzhou II was conducting: in physics, voice transmission, astronomy and the environment of space.

Details about the first mission were given out only after a safe landing

"Sources said that all the designated scientific experiments were being carried out in line with the original plans," Xinhua reported. It made no mention of any cargo, although newspaper reports on Wednesday's launch said the Shenzhou carried cell and tissue samples of 87 animals, plants and micro-organisms.

Preparations for Shenzhou II to return to Earth would be made in the coming days, the agency said.

China made its first Shenzhou test flight in November 1999. With that mission, it was only after the craft had landed safely on the steppes of the inner Mongolian region that China released an official statement detailing what had taken place.