CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk while flying on Shenzhou 7.
Shenzhou 7 (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Shnzhu Q Ho) was the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program. The mission, which included the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crew members Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, marked the commencement of the second phase of the Chinese government's Project 921.
The Shenzhou spacecraft carrying the three crew members was launched 25 September 2008, by a Long March 2F (CZ-2F) rocket which lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 21:10 CST. The mission lasted three days, after which the craft landed safely in Siziwang Banner in central Inner Mongolia on 28 September 2008, at 17:37 CST. The Shenzhou 7 EVA made the Chinese space program the third to have conducted an EVA. EVAs had previously been conducted by the space programs of the Soviet Union (later Russia) and the United States.
China National Space Administration (CNSA; Chinese: 中国国家航天局; pinyin: Zhōngguó Guójiā Hángtiān Jú) is the government agency of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation, including organizing or leading foreign exchanges and cooperation in the aerospace field. An administrative agency under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, its headquarters are located in Haidian, Beijing.
Founded in 1993, CNSA has pioneered a number of achievements in space for China despite its relatively short history, including becoming the first space agency to land on the far side of the Moon with Chang'e 4, bringing material back from the Moon with Chang'e 5, and being the second agency who successfully landed a rover on Mars with Tianwen-1.
As the governing body of civil space activities, China National Space Administration does not execute any space program. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation executes China's state space programs instead. The China Manned Space Program is operated by China Manned Space Agency, instead of the CNSA.