At 21:10:00 on September 25, 2008, in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center control hall, as the commander gave the order, the Long March 2F rocket blasted off into the night sky. The Shenzhou VII spacecraft carrying three astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng flew toward space in the profound night sky of the vast Gobi desert, beginning the Chinese spacewalk journey. At 21:33, Chang Wanquan, the Commander-in-Chief of China's Manned Space Program announced that the spaceship had entered the predetermined orbit and the Shenzhou VII launch was successful.