A Chinese spacecraft carrying three astronauts has docked with an orbiting module where they will live and work for several days as part of preparations for crewing a permanent space station.

China celebrated its first-ever space walk, fuelling ambitions to build a space station and push further into areas of exploration previously dominated by the former Soviet Union and the United States.

A Chinese astronaut today performed the nation’s first-ever spacewalk, the latest milestone in an ambitious programme that is increasingly rivalling the US and Russia in its rapid expansion.