"The current plan is that Shenzhou V will be launched in October but it is very hard to say the exact date," an official at the China Rocket Research Institute told AFP. "Many factors will affect the decision."

An official surnamed Zeng from the space department of the China Great Wall Industry Corp. confirmed that the craft would blast off in October.

"The Shenzhou V spacecraft will be launched in October. We are not sure of the exact date," he said.

Hong Kong's pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po newspaper this week cited official sources as saying the launch would take place sometime in the next 100 days.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. had told AFP in January that the highly-anticipated mission would happen in October.

If all goes well, China will become only the third country to launch a human into space, more than four decades after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

It remains unclear, however, how many astronauts will be on board the maiden flight.

The first Soviet and US missions were both one-man missions in order to reduce the risk if something went wrong in the nascent days of space travel.

Officials contacted by AFP Wednesday refused to comment, saying it was "top secret".

Fourteen former fighter pilots, each with more than 1,000 hours flying experience, have been in training as astronauts "for years", official media has previously said.

Two were sent to Russia's cosmonaut school.

China has so far launched four unmanned spacecraft.

The latest one, Shenzhou IV, returned to earth on January 5 after a 162-hour mission in which the craft was fully equipped with all the prerequisites for a manned flight, even carrying spare clothes that astronauts might need to change into.

China's space program, set up in 1992, is run by the military and is shrouded in official secrecy.

It has taken on mammoth proportions, employing tens of thousands of scientific, manufacturing and planning personnel in more than 3,000 factories.

SPACE.WIRE