China news

Countdown starts for Chinas space station in 2020

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:58 Written by People Daily

Authorities in charge of the manned space program unveiled plans on Monday to build a 60-ton space station, made up of three capsules, and develop a cargo spaceship to transport supplies. The China Manned Space Engineering Office said at a news conference that it also wants the public to get involved by suggesting names for the space station, due to completed around 2020. According to documents provided by the office, the space station, weighing about 60 tons, is composed of a core ...

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Second moon probe next year

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:45 Written by People Daily

&$&$Another spacecraft launch likely in 2010 to prepare for space lab&$&$ China plans to launch Chang'e-2, the country's second lunar probe, at the end of 2010, space authorities announced yesterday. The design and production of Chang'e-2 is complete, and the lunar orbiter is undergoing ground tests, the State Administration of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense said yesterday in a news release. Chang'e-2 is expected to test the soft-landing technological capabi ...

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Expert Chinas space technology close moon landing capability

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:44 Written by People Daily

After years of development, China's space technology is close to moon landing capability, said Fu Yiqing, space expert and consultant to the Shanghai Institute of Space Propulsion (SISP). Fu, also a senior member of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), said this during an interview with reporters form China News Service. New generations of Chinese taikonauts are studying moon landing technology. Although there is no big problem in the overall technical aspects of mo ...

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China to put Tiangong-1 into space next year

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:43 Written by People Daily

China is to put an unmanned space module into space in 2010, a space expert said in Beijing Wednesday. Weighing about 8.5 tonnes, Tiangong-1 is able to perform long-term unattended operation, which will be an essential step toward building a space station. &$&$Source:Xinhua&$&$ ...

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China plans to launch second lunar probe in October

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:43 Written by People Daily

China plans to launch the Chang'e-2, the country's second lunar probe, in October this year, an expert said Thursday. The satellite would be launched on a Long March 3-C carrier rocket, said Liang Xiaohong, Party chief of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Liang's remarks came just one day after Qi Faren, former chief designer of China's Shenzhou spaceships, said the count ...

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Shenzhou VIII to be launched in 2nd half of 2011

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:42 Written by People Daily

China will launch the "Tiangong I" space station and the "Shenzhou VIII" spaceship in the first and second half of 2011 respectively, conducting China's first rendezvous and docking test, said Niu Hongguang Wednesday, deputy commander-in-chief of the China Manned Space Program. China will also launch the "Shenzhou IX" spaceship and the "Shenzhou X" spaceship in the first and second half of 2012 respectively, realizing rendezvous and docking between the spaceships and the space station and mak ...

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China to conduct maiden space docking in 2011 expert

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:41 Written by People Daily

China will launch an unmanned space module, Tiangong-1, in the first half of 2011, and the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft in the second half of the year, to carry out the nation's first-ever space docking, an expert said here Wednesday. The Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spaceships, which are also expected to dock with Tiangong-1, would be launched in 2012, said Niu Hongguang, deputy commander-in-chief of China's manned space program. The two spaceships would help China establish breakthroughs and furt ...

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China to launch Tiangong-1 docking module in 2011

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:40 Written by People Daily

The Tiangong-1, the first docking module in China's permanent space station and also an orbiting laboratory, has been fully assembled and will be launched in 2011, according to information published on www.cmse.gov.cn, China's official manned space engineering Web site, on Aug. 17. The module is now undergoing comprehensive electrical performance tests. After passing a series of electrical, mechanical and thermal performance tests, it will be sent into the pre-set orbit in 2011, and afterward ...

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Moon landing gets timetable

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:40 Written by People Daily

The timetable for China's first manned moon landing, as well as the launch of a space station, lab and probes to explore Mars and Venus, was announced by scientists over the weekend. Chinese analysts, however, dismissed international concerns that Beijing is engaging in an outer-space arms race, stressing that recent activities and future missions are for scientific purposes and for the benefit of mankind. In a visit to the country's space base in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Satur ...

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China plans to build its own space station in around 2020

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:39 Written by People Daily

China plans to set up the country's orbital space station by around 2020, said Yang Liwei, China's first astronaut sent into space in 2003, when visiting China's space base in Xi'an Saturday. Yang revealed that China plans to launch the unmanned space station Tiangong-1 and Shenzhou-8 in middle and the second half of 2011, which is expected to accomplish the country's first unmanned space docking test and regarded as an essential step toward building a space station. In 2012, both manned ...

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China to launch unmanned space module next year

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:39 Written by People Daily

China plans to launch an unmanned space module, Tiangong-1, in 2011, which is expected to accomplish the country's first space docking and regarded as an essential step toward building a space station, an expert said on Wednesday. Tiangong, or the heavenly palace, would finally be transformed into a manned space lab after experimental dockings with three Shenzhou spacecraft, which are expected to be put into space within two years following the module's launch, said Qi Faren, former chief d ...

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China kicks off manned space station program

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:38 Written by People Daily

China has formally begun its manned space station program, aiming to complete construction of a "relatively large" manned space laboratory around 2020, said a spokesman for the national manned space program. China was aiming to develop and launch the first part of a space laboratory before 2016, focusing on breakthroughs in living conditions for astronauts and research applications, the spokesman said. The country would develop and launch a core cabin and a second laboratory module around ...

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China starts manned space station project

Monday, 29 August 2011 20:38 Written by People Daily

A project to construct China's first manned space station has been officially launched and it is expected to be completed by around 2020, when a large scale national space laboratory will be also set up, according to a spokesman from the China Manned Space Engineering Project on Oct. 27. It was reported that the manned space station project included two stages of construction. By 2016, a space laboratory is expected to be developed and launched with breakthroughs in key technologies, inc ...

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