President Hu Jintao, military chief and former president Jiang Zemin and former parliamentary head Li Peng will make their way to the Jiuquan Launching Center in northwestern Gansu province for the event, the Wen Wei Bao said.

Hu and other top leaders are tied up in Beijing in a communist party meeting from October 11-14.

The leaders would also hold a telephone conversation with China's first man in space through a special hook up with the space capsule, the report said.

The paper, which has been a conduit of information on the prestigious but secretive launch, also denied earlier reports that the flight would only last some 90 minutes.

Weather and technological conditions permitting, the Shenzhou V was slated for a 9 am take off on October 15 and would return to earth the following day after a 21 hour mission, the paper said.

SPACE.WIRE