Sep 29 2008
From The Space Library
The People’s Republic of China’s Shenzhou 7 successfully returned to Earth, landing in Mongolia at 09:38 (UT), in China’s third crewed mission to space. Shenzhou 7 had launched from Jiquan in Gansu Province on 25 September 2008 at 13:10 (UT), on a Long March-2F rocket, with astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng on board. On 27 September 2008, Zhai had performed China’s first spacewalk, leaving the spacecraft for 20 minutes to collect a test sample of solid lubricant that engineers had attached to the outside of the craft. The spacewalk also tested Zhai’s US$4.4 million Chinese-made spacesuit. After the spacewalk, the astronauts had released an 88-pound (39.92-kilogram) satellite, which would take photographs and transmit them back to Earth. The mission marked China as the third nation, along with the United States and Russia, capable of independently launching crewed spaceflights and conducting spacewalks.
Spacewarn Bulletin, no. 659, 1 October 2008, http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/spx659.html (accessed 25 July 2011); Clara Moskowitz, “China’s Third Manned Spaceflight Returns Safely to Earth,” Space.com, 28 September 2008, http://www.space.com/5904-china-manned-spaceflight-returns-safely-earth.html (accessed 27 July 2011); Chistopher Bodeen, “Chinese Cheer as Astronauts Makes [sic] First Spacewalk,” Associated Press, 28 September 2008.
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