China's Shenzhou VII spacecraft will carry three astronauts into orbit this week to undertake the nation's first space walk.

Here are some details about Shenzhou:

-- Shenzhou means "Divine Vessel" (or "God Vessel" or "Magic Vessel").

-- It has a dome-shaped design and is comprised of three modules -- a forward orbital module, a re-entry module and a service module at the back.

-- The ship can seat up to three astronauts or "taikonauts."

-- The basic design of the re-entry module is modelled after the Russian Soyuz vessel that was first launched some 40 years ago.

-- The orbital module will be manned by two astronauts with one performing the space walk.

-- The orbital module can remain in orbit after the re-entry module returns to earth and can serve as a building block for an eventual space laboratory.

-- The first Shenzhou was launched on 19 November, 1999 and orbited the Earth 14 times before landing under parachute.

-- Three subsequent Shenzhou spacecrafts were launched, leading up to the Shenzhou V, China's first manned mission in 2003 carrying a single taikonaut.

-- Shenzhou VI, China's second manned space flight, carried two taikonauts on a five-day mission in 2005.

-- Shenzhou capsules have flown at altitudes from 196 to 334 kilometres (122 to 207 miles).

-- The capsules are built by the state-run China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.

-- The Shenzhou VII spacecraft will be launched by a Long March 2F rocket, the type used for years to ferry Earth orbit satellites.