Chinese astronauts get ready for spacewalk

Beijing: Astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou 7 spacecraft prepared for the country's first-ever spacewalk on Friday by readying the space suits to be used on Saturday.

Prepping the two suits - one Chinese, one Russian - takes around 12 hours, and includes booting up the power, life support, and other systems and synchronising them, according to Wang Zhaoyao, deputy director of China's manned space programme office.

"This is China's first attempt [at a spacewalk] so there are a lot of uncertainties," Wang told reporters at a news conference in Beijing.

The 20-minute spacewalk is scheduled for this afternoon; the exact timing depends on the readiness of equipment and personnel, Wang said. The event will be broadcast live on television, he said.

First, key step

Performing a successful spacewalk is a key step in mastering techniques for linking two orbiters, required to create China's first space station, expected within the next few years.

The two astronauts donning suits for the spacewalk will be supported by Russian experts throughout the mission. Only one astronaut will actually leave the orbiter module to retrieve scientific experiments placed outside, described by the official Xinhua news agency as solid lubricant samples.

The ship will then release a 40-kilogram satellite which will circle the orbiter and send back images to mission command.

Shenzhou 7 commander Zhai Zhigang is expected to carry out the spacewalk. Like his fellow astronauts, he is a 42-year-old fighter pilot; the three have each logged more than 1,000 hours of flying time.

Earlier on Friday, the three-module capsule went from an oval orbit to a more stable circular orbit 343 kilometres above Earth, meaning it is circling Earth at a constant distance.

The change in orbit ensures Earth's gravitational pull will not vary during the spacewalk attempt, and will allow for smooth operation of the ship's instruments, the agency said.

Precise landing

A round orbit will also help Shenzhou make a precise landing on the Inner Mongolian Steppe tomorrow after its re-entry vehicle bursts through Earth's atmosphere, Xinhua said.

Thursday's launch of China's third manned mission in five years dominated front pages of the entirely state-controlled media, largely supplanting coverage of China's continuing scandal involving contaminated milk.