Monitors at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province set up a receiving antenna. The center is conducting real-time monitoring on the  electromagnetic environment of the launch site to make sure the radio equipment will work safely. Photo: CFP

The Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft mission successfully completed its first full-system drill Tuesday with all operations going smoothly, an official with the mission said.

"The four-and-a-half-hour drill fully tested the conditions of all systems," the Xinhua News Agency quoted an official at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center as saying.

"Organization and command are unhindered, the technology and equipment are working normally and all conditions meet the requirements for the real launch," said the official.

As the closest event to the real mission, the drill was the first comprehensive maneuver ahead of the launch, with most systems taking part in it.

The spacecraft will be launched sometime this month to perform the first manned space docking mission with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module. It is expected to be in orbit for around 13 days, the longest manned flight so far, engineers told the Beijing Times.

China Tuesday expressed its willingness to conduct aerospace cooperation with the US.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin made the remarks at a press briefing in response to comments that China is catching up the US in terms of the aerospace development.

Liu said China is ready to conduct international cooperation with other countries on aerospace technologies, including manned spaceflight technologies, on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, stressing that China's space activities are for peaceful purposes.

Astronauts of Shenzhou-9 will test the recycling system inside Tiangong-1, reported the Jinling Evening News.

All vapors from breathing and sweating will be automatically collected and recycled. A device will turn the water into oxygen, while another device will turn the astronauts' urine into water, Huang Weifen, deputy designer of the astronauts' system, told the newspaper.

The urine-turned-water will be sent back to earth for testing before future astronauts drink it, she said.

Global Times