China’s second manned space mission will blast off on 13 October at the earliest, Chinese news sources claim.
The Shenzhou-6 spacecraft will launch from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Base, in the Gobi desert of northern China.
Reports say the Chinese will send two astronauts into space for a mission lasting about five days.
China’s first manned launch in October 2003 made it only the third country to send a human into space on its own, after Russia and the US.