China to launch first spacewalk mission in October

By Xinhua,

Beijing : China will launch its Shenzhou VII manned space mission, which will include the first spacewalk by a Chinese “taikonaut”, in October, a spokesman of the China Manned Space Engineering Office said Thursday.

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The official did not give the exact date of the launch, but said a day in October would be fixed for starting the mission.

A crew of six astronauts had been chosen for the mission, with three manning the spacecraft and three substitutes, said the spokesman.

The Shenzhou VII spaceship will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the northwestern province of Gansu.