President Hu Jintao thanked and congratulated the two Chinese astronauts in orbit Saturday in an exchange shown live on national television on the Shenzhou 6 capsule's fourth day in space. "The Chinese motherland and the people are proud of you!" Hu told Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng by radio from the space program's Beijing control center. "The Shenzhou 6 symbolizes a new and important step in China's manned space program." Hu said he expected the astronauts to make a "triumphant return," though there has been no official word on when they might land. News reports say it might be Sunday or early Monday, depending on conditions at the landing site in China's northern grasslands. "We will certainly successfully fulfill our mission," Fei told Hu. The government said the mission was going smoothly, despite reports that tracking ships in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans were fighting high winds and waves. The ships reportedly were preparing emergency measures in case conditions worsened, but there was no indication the landing might be affected. The capsule "has safely traveled in space for three whole days," the official Xinhua News Agency said.
