Shenzhou VII, the name of which means “Divine Vessel” in Chinese, the country’s third manned space flight, and the first one which will include a spacewalk, has achieved its definitive circular orbit 343 kilometers above the Earth; it had previously held an elliptical orbit after launch, but the craft undertook a 64-second engine burn in order to jump to a stable orbit. This will allow for more precise and smooth operation, as there is now no variation in the earth’s gravity to interfere with the ship’s instruments. Astronauts are preparing for the spacewalk which will happen at 4:30 pm on Saturday.

The three 42-year-old fighter pilots who are manning the spacecraft are currently assembling and preparing their space suits – one of which is Russian, and the other a Chinese-made model – for the “main event” of the space mission, which will last for 20 minutes, and which will be broadcast live on television, according to Wang Zhaoyao, deputy director of China's manned space program office. In fact, the space mission is on the front page of the entirety of China’s media, which is state-controlled. One cannot stress enough the political and patriotic significance of this mission, as well as its technological aspects.

The spacewalk, which is almost exclusively the focus of the Shenzhou VII mission, is itself a preparatory step for further missions, as an understanding of Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) techniques is necessary if the future Chinese space station is to become a reality.

Although two of the taikonauts, as the Chinese moniker for astronauts goes, will be equipped with spacesuits, and will be supported by Russian experts all the way, only one of them will actually exit the spacecraft and go into open space in order to retrieve a solid lubricant sample from the exterior of the craft. Although there’s no official confirmation about who that will be, everyone’s money is on Zhai Zhigang, the mission commander. After the EVA is completed, Shenzhou VII will also launch an 88 pound imaging satellite into orbit.

Astronaut Zhai Zhigang was slated to make the spacewalk, spending about 40 minutes outside the spacecraft while he performs tasks such as retrieving a 3-kilogramme solid lubricant experiment from the rear of the Shenzhou VII.

Zhai is to wear the 120-kilogram, Chinese-made protective suit, which reportedly cost up to 30 million dollars, state media said.

The Shenzhou model spacecraft, based loosely on the old Soviet Soyuz model capsules, and which has so far successfully born into orbit two other manned missions will be mass-produced by China, according to the vessel’s chief designer Zhang Bainan, in order to ferry personnel and equipment to the space station.

To fill the roles of future astronauts, there will be a new round of astronaut selection after the completion of the current mission, stated Chen Shanguang, director of the China Astronaut Research and Training Center. There are also plans for including female astronauts in the program, but nothing definite has been established yet.

The mission is giving China much confidence as its developing endeavor for the stars grows into maturity. "Many standards have already been set and there has been strong support from society as a whole," says Yang Liwei, the first Chinese man to be put into space back in 2003.

Shenzhou VII is also to release a 40-kilogram mini-satellite to monitor the orbital module and transmit video images. "The task will test our ability to observe and control two satellites in relative motion," Zhou Jianping, chief designer of the manned space programme, told Xinhua at Jiuquan.