China lets public watch latest space launch

China exulted at its second manned space flight today after the government eased its secrecy and showed the launch of two astronauts on live television, scoring a success in a costly programme that communist leaders hope will win them respect abroad and public support at home.

Schoolchildren in Shanghai watched in class and hundreds of people gathered around a giant video screen at Beijing’s main railway station to see astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng blast off from a base in China’s Gobi desert.