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JIUQUAN, China (AP) -- A rocket carrying two Chinese astronauts on the country's second manned space mission blasted off Wednesday from a heavily guarded launch base in the country's desert northwest.
The flight of the Shenzhou 6 capsule, reportedly due to last up to five days, comes nearly two years after China's first manned space mission made it only the third nation to send a human into orbit on its own.
The Long March rocket carrying astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng lifted off at 9 a.m. (0100 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The launch was shown live on Chinese state television.
Minutes after liftoff, mission control announced that the first stage booster had successfully separated from the rocket and that the flight was proceeding as planned.
The manned space program is a key prestige project for the country's communist leadership.
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