Beijing: China's space program will launch an
unmanned experimental module next year, the first component of
its permanent space station, state media reported on Wednesday.
Before the completion of the station, the 8.5 ton module,
named Tiangong 1, or "Heavenly Palace", will be used for
docking practice by China's Shenzhou space craft, Qi Faren,
the program's veteran chief designer, was quoted as saying by
the Xinhua News Agency.
The unmanned Shenzhou 8 mission is expected to dock about
two years after Tiangong's launch, followed by manned Shenzhou
9 and 10 flights.
Xinhua quoted Liang Xiaohong, head of the China Academy of
Launch Vehicle Technology, as saying Tiangong 1 would be slung
into space atop a modified version of the two-stage Long March
2F rocket capable of carrying payloads of more than eight
tons.
A permanent orbiting space station is a component of
China's space ambitions, although no target completion date
has been given.
The space program's strong connection to China's armed
forces and the secretive, authoritarian nature of Beijing's
communist one-party government has inhibited cooperation with
the US and other nations, including on the newly completed
International Space Station.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 03, 2010, 20:26