China Poised for Third Manned Spaceflight

China joined the United States and Russia as the only nations capable of manned space flight in 2003 with the flight of Shenzhou 5. The Chinese learned more lessons of spaceflight in 2005 with Shenzou 6, even though the mission was cut short by several days. Recently, Chinese officials announced a plan to return to space with Shenzhou 7 this year, likely just after the Olympics are hosted in Beijing. The timing is viewed as an opportunity to showcase Chinese strides in technology in both venues.