Official: Taikonaut Zhai Zhigang to perform China´s first spacewalk

Zhai started training as an astronaut about ten years ago. He made the final list of candidates for the Shenzhou-5, China's first manned space mission in 2003, and the Shenzhou-6 in 2005, but didn't get to fly in both missions.

The father of a teenage boy likes calligraphy and ballroom dancing, and plays video games with his son in the spare time.

The video grab taken on Sept. 27, 2008 at the Beijing  Space Command and Control Center in Beijing, China, shows  Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang prepares for the spacewalk  at the orbital module in Shenzhou-7. Chinese taikonauts  began the activities of China's first spacewalk on Saturday  afternoon. (Xinhua/Zha Chunming)