China will launch its third manned space mission after next year's Olympics, AP reported. The Shenzhou 7 will launch next October, carrying three astronauts who will perform China's first space walk. Officials said there was no link between the scheduling of the Olympics and the Shenzhou 7's launch. Separately, a new family of rockets, dubbed the Long March 5, was reported to be ready by 2013. The rockets will be able to deliver 25-ton components for a space station into Earth's orbit. The rockets' development will cost US$529 million. China launched its first moon probe in October, and is now in position to begin transmitting lunar data to Earth.