Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut who entered space two years ago, said in Jiuquan Tuesday that the astronauts in Shenzhou-VI spacecraft are capable of fulfilling their flight task.

The spacecraft is scheduled to be launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China Wednesday morning. Three pairs of six astronauts have been picked for the second manned space mission of China.

"The pairs of astronauts are all excellent," Yang said. "No matter who are chosen, surely they will complete the mission better than what I did in Shenzhou-5."

The three pairs are Fei Junlong, 40, and Nie Haisheng, 41, Liu Boming, 39, and Jing Haipeng, 39, Zhai Zhigang, 39, and Wu Jie, 42.

All these astronauts grew out of air force pilots and have similar background and experience. However, each person has his own character, Yang said.

"The issue of complementary character has been taken into consideration when the astronauts are paired," he said, adding that the two astronauts chosen for the space mission will have their own work in space and they also cooperate with each other.

Source: Xinhua