Tech Shout!

China is now aiming for its third manned flight to Space in 2008. It was reported that two astronauts will make the space walks.

According to Huang Chunping, chief consultant for China’s manned launching vehicle system; the manned flight would be called the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft, and will be ready this year.

However, work is yet being down on the suit that the astronauts plan to wear during the space walk. Three astronauts will go into space, but out of them only two will perform the space walk. No word yet on how long the space walks would be.

“The main reason for the delay is that we wanted to be able to carry out the space walk completely dependent on our self-ability,” Huang said.

Huang also said that the timing of the flight would depend on progress on finishing the space suit, and would not be timed for the Summer Olympics, which start in August 2008 in Beijing.

China conducted its first manned space launch in 2003. This event made China the third country, after the former Soviet Union and the United States to send a human into orbit on its own. A second space flight carrying two astronauts took place in October 2005.