China To Attempt First SpacewalkChina To Attempt First Spacewalk

China hopes to celebrate its first human spacewalk this week.

The country launched three astronauts into orbit Thursday, with plans for one of the astronauts to walk in space by the end of the week. China has had only two other manned missions in space, with the first taking place five years ago.

Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng will orbit the earth for three days. Two of them will enter a depressurized cabin before one leaves to retrieve test samples. That astronaut will wear a Chinese-made spacesuit called a Feitian, the name of a Buddhist goddess, which translates to "flying in the sky." The second astronaut will wear a Russian space suit and remain in the depressurized cabin for support.

The crew will also release of a small monitoring satellite and conduct a data relay trial. The historic spacewalk is a source of pride for both the government and citizens of China. The government-run media announced the successful launch of the Shenzhou-7 shuttle, saying its part of China's plan to explore space and make peaceful use of it.

Government leaders said the mission would boost the economy by promoting China's space flight technology. It's also a step toward China's plans to build a lab and space station, officials said.

The spacewalk is scheduled to take place Friday or Saturday. If the mission is successful, China will become the third country whose astronauts have ventured outside of their spacecraft. Astronauts from the United States and Russia have also walked in space.