Three men sit atop 500 tons of explosive rocket fuel. A controlled explosion will blast them 300 kilometers into space, China's next great leap bolstered by visions of long-distance manned missions to Mars, the moon, and asteroids. This film documents the preparation and launching of China's Shenzhou 7 spaceship from the highly exclusive Jiuquan space center, offering a rare window into Chinese space technology and the daily lives of astronauts.

Three men sit atop 500 tons of explosive rocket fuel. A controlled explosion will blast them 300 kilometers into space, China's next great leap bolstered by visions of long-distance manned missions to Mars, the moon, and asteroids. This film documents the preparation and launching of China's Shenzhou 7 spaceship from the highly exclusive Jiuquan space center, offering a rare window into Chinese space technology and the daily lives of astronauts.