Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




DRAGON SPACE
Early Blast-Off Tipped For Spacewalk Mission
by Staff Writers
Beijing, China (SPX) Sep 04, 2008


Shenzhou VII astronauts will use a Chinese designed and made airlock module for extra vehicular activity - work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of a spacecraft.

The planned launch date of Shenzhou VII, China's third manned spacecraft, may be brought forward from next month to sometime this month, Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po newspaper said. A source reportedly told the paper the launch date will be between Sept 17, the closing day of the Beijing Paralympics, and Oct 1, China's National Day.

"Now it is fairly certain it will be before National Day, because the best launch window for Shenzhou VII will be before Oct 1," the newspaper quoted the source as saying.

But an officer with the General Armament Department of the People's Liberation Army, which oversees the Shenzhou program, told China Daily the report was "not reliable".

The spacecraft will lift off from the Jiuquan rocket launch site in northwestern Gansu province with three astronauts. Two of them will enter the orbital module, with one expected to become the first Chinese spacewalker.

Shenzhou VII has already been assembled and transferred to Jiuquan for final tests, the paper said.

It will be launched on a Long March 2F rocket. On its return, the spacecraft is expected to land within the jurisdiction of Wulanchabu, a city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the paper said.

Shenzhou VII astronauts will use a Chinese designed and made airlock module for extra vehicular activity - work done by an astronaut away from the Earth and outside of a spacecraft.

The spacesuit is designed for such missions of up to seven hours.

The much-awaited mission is the second stage of the country's three-staged manned space program, which seeks to launch a manned spacecraft, set up a space laboratory, and build a space station before 2020.

The first phase was completed in 2003, when China became the third country to send a person into space on its own. In 2005, the country sent two more astronauts on a five-day flight on Shenzhou VI.

Last year, Chang'e I, China's first lunar probe, was sent into orbit, drawing a close to the first stage of its lunar exploration project, which too involves three phases. The last aims to collect soil samples from the moon, also before 2020.

.


Related Links
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








DRAGON SPACE
China to launch third manned space flight in September: report
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 2, 2008
China has brought forward the launch date of its third manned space flight to late September, a report said Tuesday. The launch of Shenzhou VII is now expected to take place between September 17 -- the end of the Beijing Paralympics -- and China's National Day on October 1, Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po said, citing unnamed sources. The period offered the best launch window for Shenzhou ... read more


DRAGON SPACE
NASA Seeks Input For Commercial Lunar Communications And Navigation

China's First Lunar Probe Satellite Normal After Eclipse

A Flash Of Insight: LCROSS Mission Update

India Postpones First Lunar Mission Until Mid-October

DRAGON SPACE
Phoenix Analyzing Deepest Soil Sample Yet

Phoenix Mission Conducting Extended Activities On Mars

Opportunity Facing New Challenges After Victoria Detour

Giant Telescope Mirror Blank Is Perfect

DRAGON SPACE
Astronaut named head of Canadian Space Agency

Get Ready For The Ultimate Sports Experience

Mapping The Planets, The Moons And The Asteroids

Ares Progress Report For August

DRAGON SPACE
Early Blast-Off Tipped For Spacewalk Mission

China to launch third manned space flight in September: report

China to launch Venezuela's first satellite: Chavez

China's Space Ambitions

DRAGON SPACE
Jules Verne Prepares For ISS Departure

Computer virus goes into orbit

ISS Orbit Adjusted To Dodge Space Junk

ISS Program Facing Hard Choices

DRAGON SPACE
GeoEye-1 Satellite Launch Delayed Due To Hurricane Hanna

Arianespace To Launch Koreasat 6

Inmarsat Selects ILS Proton To Launch S-Band Satellite For Europe

Forecast International Projects 50 Billion Dollar ELV Market

DRAGON SPACE
NASA Carl Sagan Fellows To Study Extraterrestrial Worlds

Universally Speaking, Earthlings Share A Nice Neighborhood

An Interstellar Mission Scenario

Computer Simulations Show How Special The Solar System Is

DRAGON SPACE
Film created to protect small spacecraft

An Interview With Michael Fehringer GOCE System Manager

North Korea marks long-range missile test

Eyes turn to dawn of 'visual computing'




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement