[1][3] 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 Long March 2F rocket launched the Shenzhou 7 into an initial elliptical orbit of 200 x 330 kilometres inclined at 42.4 degrees on 25 September 2008.

[1] After three days in space, deorbit manoeuvres began on 28 September at 08:48, and the return module landed at 09:37 UTC at coordinates 42°16′41″N 111°21′18″E / 42.278°N 111.355°E / 42.278; 111.355.

[12] 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.

[14] 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,[15] providing oxygen and allowing for the excretion of bodily waste.

[15] According to Chinese media reports, spacesuit materials with such features as fire and radiation resistance were developed by several civilian corporations and national institutes.

The satellite was a cube about 40 cm (16 in) long, with a mass of 40 kilograms (88 lb); it carried boost devices and two 150-megapixel stereo cameras.

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.

[30] Handrails have been added to the external wall of the Orbital module to allow the space walking astronaut to reach specific experiment areas.

[19] Two new, recently commissioned Yuanwang-class tracking ships, Yuanwang-5 and Yuanwang-6, played a key role in the Shenzhou VII mission.

Changes in personnel include: 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.

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.