China's third manned space mission blasts off

China's third manned space mission blasted off from a remote desert site on Thursday on a trip expected to include the technologically ambitious nation's first space walk. The Shenzhou VII shot up into an inky black sky at the Jiuquan launch centre in the north-western province of Gansu at exactly 9:10 pm (1310 GMT) carrying three astronauts in a take-off carried live on state television.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, speaking to the control room, called the launch "another great feat in the Chinese people's scaling of the peak of world science and technology". "The successful launch of the Shenzhou VII spacecraft signifies an initial victory for this manned spaceflight mission," he added in remarks also carried on television. It is China's third manned space venture since October 2003, when it joined Russia and the United States as the only countries to have sent astronauts into space.