Spacewalks planned for 2008
6 March 2007
China plans to carry out its third manned space mission next year, during which two of the three astronauts will perform spacewalks, AP reported, citing state media. Huang Chunping, chief consultant for China's manned launching vehicle system, was quoted as saying that the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft would be ready in 2007 but further work was required on the suits the astronauts will wear on the spacewalk. He said no decision had been made on how long the walks would be and that the mission would not be timed with the Beijing Olympics in mind. In 2003, China became the third country to send a human into orbit. A second space flight took place in 2005.