China’s Shenzhou 7 spacecraft was launched at 9:07 p.m. Thursday, carrying three Chinese astronauts into space. This is the country’s third manned space mission in the past five years.

This is definitely the most ambitious space mission China has ever had because of the fact that one of the astronauts will attempt the country’s first spacewalk ever. It would make China only the third country to attempt it, after the U.S. and Russia.

The Shenzhou 7 is scheduled to blast off from the Jiuquan launch pad in Gansu province this evening, with the walk scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Friday, ground operations head Cui Jijun said, state media reported.

The launch commander declared the launch a "complete success" after the spacecraft entered its first preset orbit about 15 minutes later.

"The successful launch marked the first victory of the Shenzhou VII mission," President Hu Jintao told staff at Jiuquan in a speech that was shown live by state broadcaster China Central Television during its coverage of the launch.

"On behalf of the (Communist) Party Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission, I'd like to extend warm congratulations to all work staff and army forces participating in the mission," Hu said.

The scheduled three-to-four-day Shenzhou VII mission includes China's first spacewalk, to be carried out by astronaut Zhai Zhigang 343 kilometres above the earth at about 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) on Friday.

Zhai is expected to spend about 40 minutes outside the spacecraft while he performs tasks such as retrieving a three-kilogramme solid lubricant experiment from the rear of the spacecraft.

One of the more particular aspects of the mission will be the launch of a small satellite designed to travel alongside the Shenzhou 7 and transmit images of the craft back to Earth.

"We intend to send astronauts to the moon and ultimately to build a lunar outpost," said Zhang Qingwei, who was until recently a leader of China's manned space program.

China currently joined forces with the European Space Agency (ESA) regarding a global-navigation satellite system as well as with the Russian Federal Space Agency with which they cooperate on everything from astronaut training to a joint robotic mission to Mars, set for 2009.

The current space programme hepls China keep up with the Joneses. "That fits with hosting the Olympics, that fits with a burgeoning economy, and that fits with the world's largest foreign capital reserves," explains Dean Cheng, senior Asia analyst at think tank CNA in Washington DC.