After Shenzhou 6, China Looks to First Spacewalk in 2007

摘要

China's next manned mission, Shenzhou 7, is expected to launch in 2007, and will include the nation's first spacewalk and a "docking experiment," the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported Oct. 13. China's space program is a source of national pride and prestige for the nation's Communist government, which has announced plans to build a manned space station and aims at launching an unmanned probe to the Moon by 2010. Two Chinese taikonauts are safely back on Earth after their Shenzhou 6 spacecraft successfully touched down on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia Oct. 16, concluding a five-day mission and China's second manned spaceflight. The space capsule carrying the Shenzhou 6 taikonauts, as astronauts are known in China, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng landed Oct. 17 at 4:32 a.m. local time, the country's official Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television (CCTV) reported.