Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang completed a spacewalk Saturday afternoon, marking a remarkable progress in the country's ambitious space program, which will eventually lead to the establishment of a permanent space station.

Shenzhou-7 also launched a small monitoring satellite about two hours after an astronaut accomplished the country's first spacewalk.

The spacewalk marks a major breakthrough in China's space program, Chinese President Hu Jintao said.

Hu talked with the trio taikonauts from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center for the Shenzhou-7 mission at 6:35 p.m. Saturday, when he inquired the physical conditions of the three taikonauts.

"How did you feel like in space after exiting the module?" asked smiling Hu.

"I felt superb," answered Zhai Zhigang, who carried out about 25 minutes of extra-vehicular activity (EVA) about 343 km above the earth after floating out of the Shenzhou-7 cabin.

"The process of taking on the Feitian spacesuit went smooth," said Zhai, looking confident and radiant on the screen at the BACC. "In the vast space, I felt proud of our motherland."

Hu congratulated the astronauts on the successful feat and encouraged them to carry on efforts to fulfill the mission.

"The thing I most want to know is how are you feeling now and how is your work going," Hu asked the trio.

The trio taikonauts answer President Hu Jintao's questions about the Shenzhou-7 mission at 6:35 p.m. Saturday after they completed the first spacewalk in Chinese history. [Xinhua]

"We feel well," said Zhai. "We conducted the space scientific tests as planned and the EVA went smoothly."

Hu hailed the spacewalk as a sign of the country's progress in space scientific technology.

"You have made outstanding contribution to our country's space project," said Hu. "The country and the Chinese people are grateful to you."

Zhai Zhigang was assisted during the spacewalk by Liu Boming in the orbit module. China is the third country in the world to accomplish the feat after the United States and Russia.

Donning a 4-million-U.S.dollar homemade Feitian space suit, Zhai slipped out of the orbital module of Shenzhou-7 in a head-out-first position at 4:43 p.m. (0843 GMT).

He waved to the camera mounted on the service module after pulling himself out of the capsule, video monitor at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) showed.

"Shenzhou-7 is now outside the spacecraft. I feel well. I am here greeting the Chinese people and people of the whole world," the taikonaut reported to the ground control in Beijing, where Chinese President Hu Jintao watched the live transmission of the proceedings along with country's top space scientists.

Zhai, who is having his 42th birthday next month, was an air force pilot before getting enrolled in the manned space program. He grew up in dirt-poor hardship with five siblings in the country's far northeast.

Taikonaut Zhai Zhigang conducts China's maiden spacewalk on September 27, 2008. [Xinhua]

Minutes after Zhai was outside the capsule, teammate Liu Boming also emerged from the orbital module hatch and handed Zhai a Chinese national flag that Zhai waved in the outer space. Their third crew member, Jing Haipeng, monitored the ship from inside the re-entry module.

Video monitor at the ground control showed Zhai then slowly leaned towards a test sample of solid lubricant placed outside the orbital module. He took the sample and handed it over to Liu.

Solid lubricant is widely used in spacecraft. The test sample carried by Shenzhou-7 include 11 types of solid lubricants. Chinese scientists hoped to improve the property and lifetime of the materials by studying the samples.

"More miraculous than science fiction"

After the handover of the test sample, Zhai, who dreamed of flying into space when he was a teenager, started the core part of the space adventure -- spacewalk.

The taikonaut, tethered to the spacecraft with two safety wires and a long electric cord providing oxygen and communications, moved slowly along a set of handrails around the orbital module.

Minutes after Zhai Zhigang was outside the capsule, teammate Liu Boming emerged from the orbital module hatch and handed Zhai a Chinese national flag. Zhai waved the flag to the camera. [Xinhua]

Zhai "walked step by step" by shifting the wire hooks connecting him and the spacecraft.

The the live telecast historic moment was watched by tens of millions of Chinese and met with applauses and cheers by crowds before downtown outdoor screens and office television sets.

"Zhai's spacewalk is more miraculous than science fictions," Yan Peng, editor-in-chief of a movie magazine, World Screen, said. "As a Chinese, watching this spacewalk is such an enjoyable thing."

At a media center set up for overseas journalists in Beijing, Deng Yibing, chief engineer of the astronaut training center, turned quite emotional when watching the live show.

"The spacewalk was done exactly as it was planed," Deng said.

"As a man with China's manned space program, watching Zhai Zhigang walking in space is like a mother watching her tottering child," he said. "Even though the steps were still a little bit staggering, I am so happy and satisfied."

The successful spacewalk also brought excitement to southwest China's Sichuan Province, where people are still struggling to recover from a deadly earthquake in May.

"Mankind is so small in universe, but we are also brave. The taikonaut's courage to explore the unknown universe is an inspiration to me," Deng Fuqiang, a teacher at a tent school in Mianyang.

"No matter it is natural disaster or space exploration, I believe there is nothing we cannot overcome as long as we pool our efforts and be united," said Deng, who watched the online broadcast in his office.

The performance of the Chinese astronauts in conducting China's first ever spacewalk looks very impressive, said Karl Bergquist, an expert with the European Space Agency (ESA) in a telephone interview on Saturday.

"I have just seen the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA) on the Website of Xinhua, It looks very impressive. The Chinese astronauts have done a nice job. I am really happy for China," said Bergquistam.

He also said, "There was a lot of interests in the European space community regarding the Sehnzhou-7 launch. We saw the launch at our office here at ESA and it was very impressing! We are also very confident about the success of China's first EVA."

"The success of China's first EVA means now China has finished two challenging tasks during this mission and will of course push forward the development of China's space industries," said Bergquist.

Karl Bergquist is an expert responsible for cooperation between ESA and China.