China's new-generation manned spaceship

BEIJING, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The trial version of China's new-generation manned spaceship is now working normally in orbit, having completed a series of operations as planned, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) on Wednesday.

The experimental spaceship was launched without crew by China's new large carrier rocket Long March-5B from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of south China's island province of Hainan on Tuesday evening.

So far, the new spaceship, developed by the China Academy of Space Technology under the CASC, has unfolded its solar panels and positioned them toward the sun, deployed its relay antenna and established a relay communication link, as well as conducted autonomous orbit control four times.

It is now in a stable flight attitude in a highly elliptical orbit, with the power supply, measurements and control links normal, said the CASC.

Next as planned, it will raise orbit three times, and re-enter the atmosphere and return to Earth after braking at the apogee, the CASC said.

It is scheduled to touch down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday, according to Ji Qiming, an assistant to the director of the China Manned Space Agency.