The Beijing News, one of the most popular newspapers in the Chinese capital, said the launch will occur after the October 1-7 holiday. It did not cite a source for its report.

The spacecraft Shenzhou VI will be launched from the Jiuquan Space Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu province, using a Long March 2F rocket, the report said.

The space flight will involve two astronauts, as previously reported, and will last 119 hours or five days, the newspaper said.

Technical officials have arrived at the Jiuquan launching base, it said.

The Shanghai Morning Post reported earlier this month that the mission could take place as early as this month or October, citing Zhang Qingwei, president of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

The mission will differ markedly from China's first manned space voyage, the Shenzhou V, which was a solo flight that lasted 21 hours in October 2003.

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, 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.

China is only the third to send a person into space, after Russia and the United States.

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