Posted: Mon, Sep 8, 2008, 8:46 PM ET (0046 GMT)
China will launch its third human spaceflight mission, Shenzhou 7, by the end of this month, Chinese media reported this weekend. According to a report by the official news agency Xinhua, the launch of Shenzhou 7 is planned for the September25-30 period. A crew of three is expected to fly on the mission, with one of them performing the first Chinese spacewalk. Other details about the mission, including the identities of the crew and the mission's duration, have not been disclosed. Shenzhou 7 would come nearly three years after the previous Chinese manned mission, Shenzhou 6, in October 2005; that mission flew two years after the first mission, Shenzhou 5.

Related Links:

•  Xinhua article
•  AP article
•  BBC article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Reuters article