China

Rocket with third manned space mission blasts off

Article published on the 2008-09-25 Latest update 2008-09-25 13:56 TU

Chinese astronauts Zhai Zhigang (R), Liu Boming (2nd R) and Jing Haipeng
Photo: Reuters/Xinhua/Li Gang

China launched its third manned space mission Thursday. The Long March 2F rocket blasted off from the Jinquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China with the Shenzhou VII spacecraft on board. The highlight of the mission, which will last 68 hours, will be a space walk on Friday or Saturday.

President Hu Jintao wished the three astronauts success as he saw them off.

The astronauts have been in training for the last decade. Chinese media report the risky walk will be undertaken by 41-year-old  airforce colonel Zhai Zhigang.  The mission will allow the Chinese to test its space flight technology.

The Foreign Ministry said the mission was part of China's effort to "explore and make peaceful use of outer space." China's longer-term aim is to build a permanent space lab.

China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third country to do so after the United States and the former Soviet Union.

After China's strong performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the space launch shows the country's increasing capabilities on the technological level. 

China has been planning the launch for decades as part of its aim to be a major player in space, says Professor Paul Murdin, a senior fellow at Britain's Cambridge Institute of Astronomy. 

"They see this developing into establishing a permanent manned space station above the earth," he told RFI. "Eventually they see their way to the exploration of the moon, the establishing of a Chinese colony on the moon and eventually going to Mars."