Dream comes true for man who reached for the stars

When astronaut Zhai Zhigang was a middle school student, he wrote: "I have a dream to fly into outer space so I can get a good look at Earth."

This dream came true nearly three decades later, when the Shenzhou VII spacecraft lifted off from Gansu province last night with Zhai and two other astronauts aboard.

And by tomorrow, Zhai would become the first Chinese to walk in outer space. He failed to be selected in two previous Shenzhou missions.