SHANGHAI, Oct. 12 (AP) -- Wary of any mishap, Shanghai's elite Xiang Ming Middle School held off celebrating China's first manned space mission until it was safely over.

Two years later, every classroom was cheering the live TV broadcast of Wednesday's launch of the Shenzhou 6, China's second manned flight.

That's a sign of growing confidence in China's manned space program, but also of growing public interest and involvement in what has long been a highly secretive military-run operation.

"Of course instilling patriotism is a big part of it, but we also think this is a great way to get students interested in science and technology," said Feng Qiang, who teaches the school's top science students.

China's space efforts embody the familiar mix of patriotism and scientific fascination that has defined such programs since the days of the U.S.-Soviet space race. It's a source of national pride among the Chinese, and Feng's students are enthusiastic.

His class of 51 gifted students watched the launch on a projection television in a classroom equipped with Internet-accessible computers and a home theater system.

They applauded the liftoff, cheered when the rocket separated successfully from the spacecraft and once the ship was in orbit, raised hand-painted signs in Chinese characters reading, "My heart takes flight," and "Celebrate the successful launch." Some fired-off congratulatory e-mails to the space program.

"It's a very great day for our country," said Seymour Lee, 15, one of Feng's students. "It feels like we've been waiting 50 years for it."

Lee says he got hooked on space flight back in primary school. On his own and in class, he's studied both the inaugural manned Shenzhou 5 flight in 2003 _ which made China only the third country to launch a human into orbit on its own _ and the Shenzhou 6, which is carrying astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng on a five-day mission.

Students said they expected the latest mission, with its longer duration and agenda of scientific experiments, to be more productive than the last one. Astronaut Yang Liwei spent only 21 1/2 hours in space during Shenzhou 5.

"They will do some useful things this time," said Lee's female classmate Chen Zhiyi.

None of Feng's students questioned the wisdom of spending heavily on manned space flight while hundreds of millions of Chinese remain mired in poverty. Several said they thought it would pay off through scientific advances in areas such as biotechnology that could help China produce more food.

Students also echoed Beijing's insistence that its space program is entirely oriented toward peaceful scientific discovery.

"We will use space peacefully," said Lee.

And, like young people everywhere, Lee said his classmates had all dreamed of being "taikonauts," the Chinese term for astronauts.

But, smiling, he added: "Unfortunately, lots of us wear glasses so we're not eligible."