China will Launch Own Spacecraft Before National Day

China's technological sleight has taken a new dimension as it plans to launch its experimental aero-spacecraft, which will also gear towards building its own space station, says a report from Reuters.

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This image of the International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Endeavour, flying at an altitude of approximately 220 miles, was taken by Expedition 27 crew member Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking on May 23, 2011 (USA time). The pictures taken by Nespoli are the first taken of a shuttle docked to the International Space Station from the perspective of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Onboard the Soyuz were Russian cosmonaut and Expedition 27 commander Dmitry Kondratyev; Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut; and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman. Coleman and Nespoli were both flight engineers. The three landed in Kazakhstan later that day, completing 159 days in space.

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"The main task of the Tiangong 1 flight is to experiment in rendezvous and docking between spacecraft," Reuters quoted a Chinese spokesperson as saying.

China aims to succeed in its spacecraft mission as part of its technological might.

"Without rendezvous and docking, you really cannot run an advance space program," Sydney-based space analyst, Morris Jones told AFP.

A Proving Ground for Higher Plans

The International Space Station is operated by Russia, the United States and other countries. But neither the United States nor Russia will have a space mission soon.

The United States announced its next space mission will be held in 2017, while Russia maintained after the Nov. 12 manned mission to the International Space Station, it will no longer prioritize manned missions.

China isthe third country to have successfully launched a moon orbiter. In 2008, its astronauts have walked in space outside their spacecraft.

Joan Johnson-Freese, a U.S.-based expert on China's space program told AFP that China's Tiangong 1 is a pilot project for China's goal of constructing a space station.

"Tiangong 1 is, I think, primarily a technology test bed," AFP quoted Freese as saying.

"The real story is that when they eventually get around to building a space station, it will look nothing like Tiangong. It is a test of a spacecraft that will one day be used as a cargo carrying vessel to a larger space station," Morris told AFP.

A related report said China will soon deploy a moon rover in 2012 and retrieve samples of lunar soils and stones in 2017. There have also been dialogues held among scientists concerning sending a man to land on moon after 2020.

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(Photo: NASA / )

This image of the International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Endeavour, flying at an altitude of approximately 220 miles, was taken by Expedition 27 crew member Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 following its undocking on May 23, 2011 (USA time). The pictures taken by Nespoli are the first taken of a shuttle docked to the International Space Station from the perspective of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Onboard the Soyuz were Russian cosmonaut and Expedition 27 commander Dmitry Kondratyev; Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut; and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman. Coleman and Nespoli were both flight engineers. The three landed in Kazakhstan later that day, completing 159 days in space.