China to carry out first spacewalk in late 2008

BEIJING—China plans to carry out its first spacewalk in second half of the year, an official of the nation’s manned space program said here on Thursday.
The Shenzhou VII spacecraft will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu latein the year and the astronauts will leave their spacecraft for the first time, the official told Xinhua. The spacecraft will also release a small inspection satellite, which monitors its own performance. Breakthroughs have been made in significant techniques related to the spacewalk. Research into the development of spacecraft and rockets has been going smoothly, and astronauts have undertaken extensive training, according to the official.
The Shenzhou VII mission will start the second phase of China’s three-stage space program, said the official. In the second stage, China plans further breakthroughs in manned space flight, such as space walks and docking of the capsule and space module. In this phase, China will put into orbit a space laboratory staffed by humans for short periods and establish a fully-equipped space engineering system.
In the third stage, China will build a permanent space station and a space engineering system. Astronauts and scientists will travel between the Earth and the space station to conduct large-scale experiments. China began its manned space program in 1999. It successfully sent Yang Liwei into orbit on the Shenzhou V spacecraft in 2003. Two years later, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng completed a Chinese record of five-day flight on the Shenzhou VI. All returned safely.
China’s first lunar probe, Chang’e-1, has successfully captured pictures of the moon’s polar areas, Chinese officials said on Thursday. The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense released on Thursday a picture of the moon’s polar areas, the first-ever such picture taken by Chinese. “We have obtained good quality pictures,” said spokesman Pei Zhaoyu of China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Scientists tuned the camera aboard the satellite on Jan. 4 so that it could start taking photos of the moon areas above 70 degrees north or south latitude, Pei said. The camera was previously positioned to take photos of moon areas below 70 degrees north or south latitude, according to Pei. He also said all facilities on Chang’e-1 were functioning well and lunar probing missions would continue as planned.

—Xinhua