The file photo shows Chinese
"taikonauts" in training. China's Shenzhou VII manned space mission, which
will include the first spacewalk by a Chinese "taikonaut", is to launch in
October, said a spokesman of the China manned space engineering office in
Beijing, June 12, 2008.(Xinhua Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhua) -- China's
Shenzhou VII manned space mission, which will include the first spacewalk by a
Chinese "taikonaut," is to launch in October, said a spokesman of the China
manned space engineering office here on Thursday.
He would not give the exact date of the launch, but
said a day would be selected in October.
A crew of six astronauts had been chosen for the
mission, with three manning the spacecraft and three substitutes, said the
spokesman.
Two of the astronauts on board the spacecraft would
prepare for the historic spacewalk, he said.
The remaining taikonaut was expected to carry out
scientific experiments, he said.
Scientists had finished the research and assembly of
the space craft, he said.
The Shenzhou VII will be launched from the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu. The launch center
is getting prepared for the launch, according to earlier reports.
The spacewalk mission is crucial for China to
establishing a space laboratory or station.
China began its manned space program in 1999 and
successfully sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into orbit on the Shenzhou V
spacecraft in 2003.
Two years later, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng
completed a new Chinese record with a five-day flight on the Shenzhou VI All
returned safely.
A virtual image of an astronaut
spacewalking outside the Shenzhou VII spaceship. (Photo: Chinadaily.com,
File Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
BEIJING, Feb. 21 -- An airlock module for the
Shenzhou VII spaceship and an extravehicular spacesuit - key elements of China's
first spacewalk mission scheduled for later this year - have passed initial
ground tests, a top scientist said yesterday.
"Both the airlock module and the extravehicular
spacesuit passed the tests, which simulated the zero-gravity environment of
space," Yang Baohua, head of the China Academy of Space Technology, said. Full story
