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2008 Chinese crewed spaceflight

On 27 September, Zhai Zhigang, wearing a Chinese developed Feitian space suit, conducted a 22 minute space walk, the first ever for a Chinese astronaut. Zhai slipped out of the orbital module in a head first position at around 16:43 (0843 GMT) and wandered around the orbital module, retrieved experiment samples and waved the Chinese flag in space. The spacewalk lasted about 20 minutes, with Zhai returning to the orbital module at 17:00. The first space walk was limited in scope: cables were used to tie Zhai to the handrail outside the orbital module, and his moving route was restricted to areas near the exits. Liu Boming, wearing a Russian Orlan M suit, stayed in the airlock in the orbital module to provide help if necessary. Liu also conducted an EVA, standing up at 08:58 UTC to hand Zhai a flag. By 09:00 UTC both astronauts were back inside and the hatch was closed. The Feitian spacesuit is similar to the Orlan M (known as Haiying, 海鹰, in Chinese) in shape and volume and are designed for spacewalks of up to seven hours, According to Chinese media reports, spacesuit materials with such features as fire and radiation resistance were developed by several civilian corporations and national institutes. Each suit was reported to have cost 30 million RMB (about US$4.4 million). Except for the gloves of the Feitian suit, the space suits were not brought back to Earth. A fire alarm was reported to the control center at the beginning of the EVA, but it was confirmed to be a false alarm.

Scientists conducted a solid lubricant exposure experiment during the mission. A piece of equipment the size of a book was installed on the outside wall of the orbital module, and was later retrieved during the space walk, after having been exposed in space for more than 40 hours. The experiment was aimed to study a lubricant which will be used for space based moving components in future space facilities.

A miniaturized satellite was released during the mission on 27 September at 19:24, after Zhai returned to the spacecraft. The satellite was a cube about long, with a mass of ; it carried boost devices and two 150 megapixel stereo cameras. The satellite's tasks included testing the mini satellite technology, observing and monitoring the spacecraft, and testing the tracking and approaching technology used for space rendezvous and docking. The miniaturized satellite took photos and videos near the spacecraft, then maneuvered to about away from the spacecraft. After the return module separated from the spacecraft and re entered the atmosphere, the satellite caught up to the orbiting spacecraft using a liquid ammonia engine, then continue to orbit around the spacecraft. The mini satellite will work for about three months.

China launched its first data relay satellite, called Tianlian I (天链一号), from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 3C carrier rocket on 25 April 2008. The Tianlian I satellite will be used to speed up communication between the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft and the ground stations, and to increase the amount of data that can be transferred to the ground. The Tianlian I satellite alone can cover 50 percent of the orbit of Shenzhou 7—whereas the Yuanwang space tracking ships, along with China's ten ground observation stations, have a coverage of only 12 percent—and thus will increase the total coverage to about 62 percent of the mission.

Special attention has been paid to solving vibration problems that were encountered 120 seconds into the Shenzhou 5 mission. These vibrations were described by Shenzhou 5 astronaut Yang Liwei as hard to endure. Corrective measures were implemented for the Shenzhou 6 mission, but since then more improvements have been added to the carrier rocket, to the pipes of the second stage, and to more than thirty other parts of the spacecraft

The Orbital module has been modified and its solar panels removed in order to allow for the EVA experiment. For this same reason, in contrast to previous Shenzhou missions, it will not remain in space after its separation with the departing crew in the Return module. Handrails have been added to the external wall of the Orbital module to allow the space walking astronaut to reach specific experiment areas. More cameras have been installed on this spacecraft than on the Shenzhou 6 vessel, in addition to those covering the Orbital module and the Return module.

Custom made, compact, foldable toilets allow the astronaut's collected urine to be scientifically inspected.

According to the United States Strategic Command, at 15:07 Greenwich Mean Time on 27 September 2008, the Shenzhou 7 ship passed within 45 kilometers of the International Space Station. There is no international laws defining distance of passage of outer space objects. China did not respond to queries about why it allowed its ship to pass so close to the space station. Richard Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal noted that the Shenzhou 7 had launched its companion satellite BX 1 four hours earlier. The IASC is a "think tank" focused on medium and long term security issues and their impact on the security of the United States and her key allies. He noted "China's track record of using all of its Shenzhou missions since 1999 for dual military civil missions," and speculated that China may have used the opportunity to pass near the space station to test "co orbital" antisatellite interception technology.