Article Posted on : - Mar 10, 2009

File photo of a Chinese remote-sensing satellite. CNSA image

HONG KONG (BNS): China plans to launch 15 to 16 satellites this year, Zhang Jianqi, deputy chief commander of the manned space project was quoted as saying by state-owned news agency Xinhua.

"Though the global financial crisis is taking toll on world economy, it has no impact on China's space programs," Zhang, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature, told media on Monday.

Figures from the China Academy of Space Technology show that the communist regime has sent an average of eight satellites into space annually during the first two years of its 11th five-year-plan (2006-2010), and the number was 1.5 before its ninth five-year-plan (1996-2000).

China is planning to launch the Shenzhou-8 and Shenzhou-9 spacecraft in 2011, a former chief designer of the manned-space project said earlier.

According to Zhang, the country is currently "batch-producing" the three spacecraft, Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10.

"This is the first time for the country to conduct researches and production on three spacecraft at the same time," he said.
China plans to launch Tiangong-1, an unmanned space module, into orbit by the end of 2010, the commander said.

Zhang said the country is selecting a new batch of taikonauts, which may include the country's first female taikonaut.