CHINA’s three astronauts spent their first day in orbit yesterday, preparing for a much-anticipated walk outside their craft, as Japan voiced hopes its neighbour had peaceful aims in space.

US MILLIONAIRE scientist Gregory Olsen and a two-man Russian-American crew returned from the international space station to Earth yesterday in a swift, bone-jarring descent.

China’s second manned space mission will be launched tomorrow morning, carrying two astronauts into orbit on a flight lasting several days, the government announced today.

The three final candidates vying to be China’s first astronaut in space have arrived at the spacecraft's desert launch pad, the Chinese government said today.