China is moving confidently to expand its presence in space. Without change in our program, it won't be that long before we'll look up at night and see a Moon with a Chinese lunar base on it.
China's next manned space launch will carry three astronauts into orbit for a week, a newspaper reported Tuesday, citing a space program official.Posted by Alan at October 31, 2003 05:36 AMPlans call for the next launch within two years, the Chengdu Evening Post said, citing Xu Dazhe, deputy general manager of the China Aerospace Technology Group.
China's first manned space launch on October 15 carried astronaut Yang Liwei's Shenzhou V capsule into orbit for a 14-orbit flight that lasted 21 1/2 hours.
Following Yang's return, space officials said the next Shenzhou launch would take place within two years, but they didn't give a date or say how many astronauts it would carry.
The space officials said China eventually wants to send up a permanently manned space station, suggesting they already are at work on supporting space crews for long periods.
via the Peoples' Daily