Sources from the China Manned Space Flight Engineering Office said that the Shenzhou-7 space flight, China's third manned space flight, would be launched in 2008 with the mission of a space walk.

Wang Zhougui, director of the office, revealed in a lecture in that the development of China's space program would take three steps in the near future: First, Shenzhou-7 will carry astronauts to space for a space walk in 2008; second, Shenzhou-8 will fly into space with the more significant mission of a space dock; and third, China will establish her own space station, third only after the United States and former Soviet Union.

According to Wang, compared with the Shenzhou-6 astronauts, who never walked out of their spacecraft during their 5-day space travel, Shenzhou-7 astronauts would try to get out in space to "take a breath" of the space air, according to a report in Xinwen Chenbao (Shanghai Morning Post), a newspaper based in Shanghai.

"The space walking astronauts will walk in the self-made space suit and do some space experiments. Our initial plans are to have 1 or 2 astronauts walk in space for about half an hour," said Wang, adding that the exact walking time would be finally fixed depending on the mission progressing at that time.

Shenzhou-8, with the mission of a space dock, will be launched around 2009 to 2011. Wang continued to explain that the space docks refer to those between two space flights or between a space flight and a space capsule.

"We will be able to carry out space aid, space cooperation, and other high-level space missions once we succeed in space docks," Wang said, forecasting a fine future for China's manned space program.

Source: China Daily