China has announced a four-step manned spaceflight plan, with the aim of the country establishing a fully fledged space station served by an aerospace vehicle.
The first stage of the programme will involve launching astronauts on Shen Zhou spacecraft to gain experience of operating in space, says China's Zhongguo Xinwen She news agency. An unmanned test of the Shen Zhou was made on 20 November (Flight International, 1-7 December).
Manned flights will be followed by demonstrations of fundamental technology, such as rendezvous and docking, leading to the development of an experimental space station to gauge the feasibility of science and space industry operations. China sees the final stage of the programme - the development of a space shuttle-type vehicle serving a fully operational space station - as essential.
Meanwhile, China says it can launch India's Insat 3C, D and E communication satellites on Long March 3B boosters at a cheaper price than that charged by Western launch providers such as Arianespace. The European commercial launcher organisation charged $69 million for the launch of an earlier Insat 2E satellite - $20 million more than India spent on building the spacecraft.
Source: Flight International