"The launch time for the Shenzhou VI is around September or October," Zhang Qingwei, president of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, told the Shanghai Morning Post.

When technicians conclude last-minute testing a more concrete flight time will be determined and two astronauts will be chosen for the flight from a group of 14.

The newspaper speculated the launch would occur sooner rather than later, but gave no reason.

The mission, which is expected to last five or six days, differs markedly from the Shenzhou V which was a solo flight that lasted only 21 hours in October 2003.

The 14 astronauts being trained are all experienced airforce pilots, who have undergone seven to eight years of rigorous astronaut training. The chosen two will not be announced until close to the launch date.

The craft will carry a Shanghai 2010 World Expo flag although Zhang refused to reveal other objects the spacecraft would take into orbit. But he promised all would soon be revealed.

China is also developing its first unmanned lunar exploration craft for a launch by 2006.

China's space program is still shrouded in secrecy with little known about events until several days before they happen. However since the success of the first manned flight, the authorities have shown a little more transparency.

Keenly aware of the military, scientific and commercial benefits of space knowledge, China has been aggressively pursuing space exploration for years.

Since its space program was set up in 1992 it has grown to employ tens of thousands of scientists and other personnel.

All rights reserved. copyright 2018 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.