Beijing, Oct 24: China, the first Asian country which successfully launched a manned space mission in the middle of this month, is capable of launching ten-tonne modules of space stations in the future, the state media reported today. The Jiuquan satellite launch centre in northwest China's Gansu province, which put China's first manned spacecraft onto the orbit on October 15, is capable of launching modules of space stations in the future, Xinhua news agency quoted a senior official at the centre as saying.


Some facilities at the centre as well as the propellant of the rocket might need to be upgraded however, the deputy designer-in-chief of the launch centre system and director of the Beijing special engineering design institute, Yu Jianping said.


The launch centre was world-class and could be used to launch a 10-tonne module of space station after the upgrading, he said.

Construction of the launch centre in the Gobi Desert began in 1993 and was completed in 1998. It assembles, tests and transports rockets and space vehicles in an upright way and through remote and automatic control.


It was of the most advanced models in the world, ensuring the efficiency and quality of rocket and spacecraft assembly and testing, he said.

Bureau Report