China Launches Space Walk Mission

China Launches Space Walk Mission

4:41pm UK, Thursday September 25, 2008

Peter Sharp, China correspondent
China's third manned space craft has successfully launched in what is seen as a key mission in the country's space programme.

Shenzhou VII blasted off from central China with three astronauts on board.

The three-day mission will underscore China's technological ambitions in space with the nation's first space walk.

On Saturday, an astronaut is scheduled to float out of an airlock on the craft 200 miles above the earth for a 40min space walk.

The success of the walk is seen as vital to the establishment of a Chinese space station in the year ahead.

This is China's third manned venture since 2003 when it joined the United States and Russia as the only countries to have sent men into space.

China's space agency introduced the three astronauts - all 42 years old - to a nation obsessed with the coming mission.

"This is something that has historical meaning and is a glorious mission for us," said Zhai Zhigang.

"As an astronaut it is the greatest honour for us to be able to represent our country and go into space."

The launch, scheduled exactly a month after the ending of the Olympics, is a milestone in the plans to develop the space station - and a key achievement in China's plans to put an astronaut on the moon by 2017.

But engineers overseeing the flight warned it carried risks.

Zhang Jianqi, one of the chief engineers, told the state news agency that keeping three men aloft and sending one outside the capsule would be a "big test" for the country's aerospace skills.

"This is a big technological leap," he said. "The risks are quite high. Sending up three astronauts is a jump in both quantity and quality."

With a name meaning "sacred vessel", the Shenzhou programme is a top secret project run through military and government agencies and its budget is murky.

In 2003, officials said it had cost 18bn yuan - about $2.6bn - up to then.

China has arrayed five satellite tracking ships to follow the craft's journey, while helicopters and ground support staff will gather for the capsule's descent into inner Mongolia in three days time.