Taikonauts?

China launched a two-man Shenzhou 6 capsule, to become only the third nation to launch a human into orbit. This marks the second human launch for the country. The first being a 21 1/2 hour flight in 2003 that carried one astronaut.

The Shenzhou 6 is carrying two taikonauts, Fei Junlong (40) and Nie Haishen (41). This crew was picked from six finalists.

The Chinese modeled the Shenzhou (Devine Vessel) on the Russian three-man capsule, Soyuz. Although, the Chinese version has been highly modified from it's Russian counterpart. The Chinese have also modeled their spacesuits, life-support systems, and other space equipment on purchased Russian equipment.

Chinese officials allowed the flight to viewed live on Chinese television. This is a break from the policy for the 2003 launch. No foreign reporters were allowed to witness the launch. And the few Chinese reporters that did see the launch were warned that any photos or videos taken may be confiscated.