Xinhua Sept.25,2008 JIUQUAN, Gansu---China launched successfully its third manned spacecraft on Thursday with three astronauts on board to attempt the country's first-ever space walk. The spaceship Shenzhou VII blasted off  on a Long March II-F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gansu Province at 9:10pm.after a breathtaking countdown to another milestone on China's space journey. On board pilots Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng are expected to orbit the earth for three days, when one of them will float out of the cabin about 343 kilometers above the earth. When they make it, China will become the third country in the world who is able to conduct extravehicular activity (EVA) in space following the former Soviet Union and the United States. President Hu Jintao watched the historic moment at the launch center, joined by Chinese experts and other work staff. Hu briefly met the trio astronauts before they entered the spacecraft Thursday afternoon, wishing them "a complete success in this glorious and sacred mission". "During the mission, you will carry out China's EVA with homemade EVA space suit, which is a great leap for China's space technology." said Hu. Other tasks of the Shenzhou VII crew include the release of a small monitoring satellite and a trial of the data relay of the satellite Tianlian-I. If successful, the mission would be of great significance to the country's future plans to build a space lab and a space station, said ZhangJianqi, deputy chief commander of the manned space project. What is the great leap for China's space technology during the space journey?
The spaceship Shenzhou VII blasted off successfully. The astronauts will carry out China's EVA with homemade EVA space suit. Three astronauts are expected to orbit the earth for 3 days. The spaceship Shenzhou VII will release a small monitoring satellite.