China Gearing up for Next Space Shot

China is aiming for its third manned orbital flight next year with two astronauts making spacewalks, a state-run newspaper reported Monday.

The Beijing Morning Post quoted Huang Chunping, chief consultant for China's manned launching vehicle system, as saying the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft would be ready this year, but work was still being done on the suits the astronauts would wear on the space walk.

"The main reason for the delay is that we wanted to be able to carry out the space walk completely dependent on our self-ability," Huang said.

And, depressingly, the US space effort is getting hampered by politics. Again.