China's First Spacewalk

Smivs writes "The BBC reports that China will launch its third manned space mission in late September, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. The Shenzhou VII flight will feature China's first-ever space walk, which will be broadcast live with cameras inside and outside the spacecraft. For the spacewalk, two crew members will go into the spacecraft's vacuum module. One yuhangyuan (astronaut) will carry out the spacewalk; the other is there to monitor the activity and assist in case of an emergency. Two types of spacesuits — one made in China, the other from Russia — will be carried up on the flight. It is unclear why China has opted for two different types of spacesuit. Spaceflight analyst Dr Morris Jones commented that China might want to test the suits against each other. Alternatively, he said, it might not be ready or willing to fly a mission exclusively with its own suits."

Comments

I know what they're up to...

[Anonymous Coward]

...and I can't stand by to let it happen! To arms, people, they're going to censor the IIS's wifi!

Scary space walk

[Dystopian Rebel]

If I were the yuhangyuan on the tether, I'd be yelling "You Hang You On!" like crazy!

Joy luck, gentlemen.