China’s Shenzhou VII spacecraft made it through the oval orbit and is now (Friday) in a more stable circular orbit 213 miles above our planet. Tomorrow, one of the three men aboard the spacecraft will attempt to become the first Chinese to complete a spacewalk.

The exact time of the spacewalk can not be determined because it depends on several factors, but it was scheduled to take place sometime on Saturday afternoon. The precise time of the spacewalk attempt depends on things such as the readiness of the equipment and that of the personnel, according to Wang Zhaoyao, deputy director of China's manned space program office.

"This is China's first attempt [at a spacewalk] so there are a lot of uncertainties," Wang added.

The three Chinese astronauts are assembling and testing the equipment and especially the space suits in anticipation of tomorrow’s attempt. The spacewalk was scheduled to last approximately 20 minutes. The Shenzhou VII was blasted into space with the help of a Long March 2F rocket on Thursday from northwestern China.

Friday, as the mission moved into a round orbit above earth, the astronauts were in fine physical condition. Their body temperature and blood pressure were normal when last checked, Xinhua News Agency reported early Friday.

The three astronauts aboard the Shenzhou VII spacecraft performed a 64-second engine burn in order to move the spaceship from the oval orbit to the round one. This translates into the fact that the mission was circling Earth at a constant distance.

Initially, Chinese authorities involved in the Shenzhou VII mission did not know whether the spacewalk attempt will take place Friday or Saturday. It all depended on how the astronauts would become accustomed to the conditions in space such as weightlessness.

The space mission was the only event which eclipsed the crisis of the Chinese toxic milk which sickened more than 53,000 infants. All the steps of the mission were completely covered by local television stations. The launch was broadcasted live on state TV and it also took over the front pages of all state-controlled newspapers.

People's Daily, a newspaper controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, published photos of President Hu Jintao waving to the three astronauts aboard the Shenzhou VII while they were getting ready to launch.

Most TV stations and newspapers presented the space mission as a symbol of China’s growing power in the field of technology and the nation’s rising global influence.

After the spacewalk is completed, the Shenzhou VII spacecraft was scheduled to land on the Inner Mongolian Steppe on Sunday, Xinhua reported. The main goal of this space mission is to complete the spacewalk. This is a very important step in getting to know how to dock two orbiters, a know-how that will eventually help create China's first orbiting space station.

The first Chinese to carry out a spacewalk will most likely be Zhai Zhigang, the spacecraft’s commander. All three astronauts are aged 42 and are very experienced fighter pilots with more than 1,000 hours of flying time.

Shenzhou VII is China’s third manned space mission since 2003. Beijing officials said they plan to land the first Chinese person on the moon by 2020.

This project comes right after the Beijing Olympic Games and it is no coincidence. China is investing huge sums in these titan projects in order to boost its recognition as a world power.

The United States and Russia accomplished their first spacewalks in 1965.