Shenzhou VII to blast off Thursday evening

By Hu Yinan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-09-24 15:59

Shenzhou VII, the country's third manned space mission, will blast off between 9:07 pm and 10:27 pm Thursday from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwestern Gansu province, top Chinese space officials announced Wednesday afternoon.

Technicians help the Shenzhou VII spacewhip dock with the Long March II-F rocket at an assembly plant in Jiuquan, Gansu province. [Xinhua] More photos

The three-day flight, which features China's first spacewalk, will take a full crew of three astronauts for the first time, Wang Zhaoyao, a spokesperson with the China Manned Space Program Office, told a briefing at the center, broadcast live on national television.

Wang did not reveal the roster of astronauts nor who would perform the 30-minute spacewalk.

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China's two previous manned flights Shenzhou V and VI both blasted off in the month of October. Until two weeks ago, observers thought the same would hold true for this mission. Officials had been talking about an October launch, but in early September, inside sources revealed to the media that the Shenzhou spaceship would lift off between Sept 25 and Sept 30.

Foreign observers say the last-minute schedule shift resulted from publicity considerations. But Zhang Jianqi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of China's manned space program, noted that it is merely because preparations were completed long before the scheduled date.

"The smoke has cleared – that's why we reported to the Central Committee this morning in Beijing and asked for approval about the launch date, which will be between Sept 25 and Sept 30," Zhang told a group of reporters at JSLC on the evening of September 7, hours after the government approved 9:10 pm on Sept 25 as the most favorable launch time for Shenzhou VII.

Before the spacewalk, the astronaut shouldering the historic task will need the help of another to put on a 120kg, non-powered spacesuit for the extra vehicular activity (EVA). Both Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, his assistant and substitute, will wear such spacesuits and work in the airlock module. Zhai's will be a Chinese-made "Feitian" spacesuit, while Liu's is an Orlan-M "Haiying" Russian spacesuit.

A total of 13 Orlan-M spacesuits, three for the actual EVA, were imported from Russia under a contract signed in April 2004, Wang said. The Russians were responsible for developing the spacesuits while China offered the power supply and communication systems for them.

"The Russian experts have provided technical assistance during the entire course of the mission," he said. "We thank their support."

Such collaboration was needed inasmuch as it only took China some three-and-a-half years to design the EVA spacesuit, as opposed to the usual eight years, Chen Shanguang, head and chief designer of the project's astronaut system, earlier said. "Our technical foundation is still weak," he admitted.

Wang called the spacesuit effort "an important event in Sino-Russian manned space cooperation". He further claimed that the success of the Shenzhou VII mission "will create beneficial conditions for more intensive cooperation between the two sides".

Russia also helped China in training astronauts and developing the Shenzhou spacecraft, according to Wang.

Thursday night's mission will kick off the second stage of China's three-staged manned space program, which aims to launch a manned spacecraft, set up a space lab and build a space station before 2020. The program, otherwise known as "Project 921", was approved on Sept 21, 1992 after years of discussion and lobbying. Then President Jiang Zemin personally named the spaceship "Shenzhou", or "Divine Craft".