ISS Fan Club

China this week launches its most ambitious space mission yet, a sign of rising confidence as Beijing cements its status as a space power and potential future competitor to the United States.

The Shenzhou 7 mission, to launch as early as Thursday, will be the first to carry a full complement of three astronauts, one of whom will perform China's first spacewalk, or EVA for "extra-vehicular activity." It is China's third manned mission.

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080922-ap-zhenzhou-countdown.html