This might be the first time that JSLC personnel who were not involved directly in yuhangyuan training learned about which yuhangyuans belonged to the final group of three candidates for flight.

The newspaper does not actually reveal the names of the three yuhangyuans, perhaps under strict rules that such disclosure is inappropriate at this time.

The report says that the two yuhangyuan trainers Li Qinglong and Wu Jie, who had received training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia in 1997, are not among the final group of candidates.

Wen Wei Po says that the names of the three yuhangyuans don't have the character "long" and their surnames are not "Cheng", "Li" or "Wu". "Cheng" is a reference to some media reports in Hong Kong that a yuhangyuan is named "Cheng Long".

Two of the three yuhangyuans come from the northeastern part of China while the other candidate comes from the south. All three candidates speak fairly standard putonghua (mandarin), but with an ever slight regional accent.

The two northerners are not particularly tall compared to the candidate from the south. In general native northerners are typically taller and have a larger physique than southerners.

Philatelic souvenir cover and medallion commemorating the launch of the first yuhangyuan. Note that on each item is an artist drawing of the same yuhangyuan figure. Could this be the face of a real yuhangyuan?

Conflicting Report On Final Candidates
But then a report in the latest issue of the weekly newsmagazine Yazhou Zhoukan, dated Oct. 19, writes that the final group of three yuhangyuans includes the two trainer and yuhangyuan Yang Liwei. The newsmagazine identifies Yang as the leading candidate to pilot SZ-5.

But the Hong Kong-based publication quotes unidentified officials as saying that the conditions of these three yuhangyuans on launch day would be critical in the final decision on who would travel on the "Divine Vessel".

Whoever out of this group ends up going on the flight, one of the momentous and memorable events wil be unfolding the national flag and the flag of the United Nations on SZ-5 according to the newsmagazine.

The yuhangyuan hero will also send greetings in Chinese and at least one other foreign language, and perhaps carry out a communication session with Jiang Zemin, Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Weather Turns Cold And Wet In Inner Mongolia
Weather in Inner Mongolia, where both JSLC and the prime and backup landing sites are located, has become much cooler and wet with the arrival of a blast of Siberian cold air, Ta Kung Pao reports today.

Short- and medium-term forecast calls for a plunge in temperature between 8 and 12 degrees Celsius in the next few days, resulting in frost or freezing over much of Inner Mongolia. Coupled with a drop in temperature is a mix of precipitation of cold rain and snow.

The reporter, who filed the story from near the SZ-5 prime landing site in Siziwang Qi County, wrote that the sport utility vehicle that he travelled in skidded off the dirt road several times in this desolate area, despite moving at only 20 km/h.

Siziwang Qi County, primarily an area of livestock farming, is approximately 100 km north of Hohhot, the capital of Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia) Autonomous Region.

But forecasters at the regional meteorological office in Inner Mongolia told the newspaper that long-range weather forecast suggested better weather conditions around the 15th, the first launch opportunity of SZ-5.

"The drop in temperature in the near future would not significantly affect the launch and recovery of Shenzhou-5," said the forecaster.

However, there remains a concern that the mixed precipitation or snow showers might affect the use of some tracking and control equipment for the mission.

Reduced visibility and worsening road conditions during precipitation may also pose greater risks for flying the recovery helicopters and moving the recovery vehicles, thereby affecting the SZ-5 recovery operation.

Although China has made great advancement in long-term weather forecasting in recent years, the level of accuracy and confidence in the forecast drops off significantly beyond 3 days in advance. It won't be until Sunday (Oct. 12) that the 3-day forecast would cover the weather prediction for the launch day.

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