Washington, Oct. 12 (UPI)-- China's successful launch of two taikonuats in its second manned space mission Wednesday tells the world a lot about how serious, formidable and well-prepared the Chinese space program is.

"You will again show that the Chinese people have the will, confidence and capability to mount scientific peaks ceaselessly, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told veteran fighter pilots Col. Fei Junlong and Col. Nie Haisheng after they blasted off from the Jinquan Satellite Launch Center on Wednesday.

First, the Chinese are not going to sit on their laurels. They are entirely serious about developing their own space station and permanent base on the Moon and, indeed, look likely to have far more industrial and financial resources to do this in the foreseeable future than either the United States or Russia.

Second, two years is quite a long time, so the Chinese made clear that while their goals in space are ambitious, they are not going to needlessly risk taikonauts' lives or international embarrassment by pushing ahead too fast with their program.

Third, the Chinese are not in a rush because they do not have to be. They have no serious rivals for their expanding manned space program over the next decade or so.

Fourth, the Chinese are confident. Unlike most of the Soviet launches through the Cold War, but like all U.S. manned space flights, they broadcast the launch of their Shenzhou-6 space craft Wednesday live on national state television. That augurs a great deal of confidence in the reliability of their technology. (There was at least a touch of U.S. cultural influence: The Long March rocket booster blasted off to the accompanying theme music from "Battlestar Galactica")

Fifth, the two year leap for a single manned space craft orbiting the earth for one day to a two-man mission that will stay up for three days is also revealing. It compares well with the similarly rapid evolution to two-manned space flight in the U.S. and Soviet space programs in the early 1960s.

Finally, the Chinese are methodical as well as patient and determined. They have already announced what the next major stepping stone in their space program will be. Sun Laiyan, head of the China National Space Administration has said it will be a space walk by a taikonaut in 2007. If all continues to go well, one should not bet against them.