China to start building first space station as part of ambitious plans for year ahead
- The country is planning over 40 rocket launches this year, the highest ever total, as it continues to expand its presence in space
- Next month will also see the country’s first mission to Mars attempting to land a rover on the surface of the planet
China is planning to carry out more than 40 rocket launches this year, the highest ever total, as it continues to expand its ambitions in space.
The planned launches include the core module of China’s first space station, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CAST)’s official WeChat account.
Before 2007, China had never carried out more than 10 launches a year. But since then it has gathered momentum, carrying out 152 launches over the last five years – more than any other country.
“China’s manned space station project will enter a critical stage, and will be the top priority of the space programme throughout the year,” CAST said on Tuesday.
It plans to launch the core module of the Tiangong Space Station in spring and aims to complete the construction by the end of next year.
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Astronauts are already in training for the mission, and will also carry out retrieval missions and test in-orbit technologies, according to state media.
The space programme will also continue to work on space station modules and prepare for a crewed lunar mission, as well as continuing to develop the Beidou navigation system – a rival to the US GPS – for use in the civilian aviation industry.
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Wu Yansheng, the party secretary and director of CAST, said 2020 was an important year for China’s space project and CAST will pursue “high-quality development” in the next five years.
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The country also conducted a secretive test flight of what was believed to be a fixed-wing reusable spaceplane similar to the US Space Shuttle.
Beijing’s ambitious space programme also includes plans to set up a lunar station by 2045, although it still lags behind the US in areas such as reusable launch systems and satellite manufacturing.
