China Space Plan to Develop “Strength and Size”

In this image taken and made from CCTV, Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping, seen on screen, listens to a question from a school girl in Beijing, China, during a live broadcast from onboard the Tiangong 1 space station, June 20, 2013.

 

China wants to develop “strength and size” in its space program, a China National Space Administration official said last week. In the next five years, the country plans to speed up the development of its space program. China wants to become the first country to carry out a controlled landing of a probe on the far side of the moon in 2018. China also has plans to launch its first probe to the planet Mars by 2020.

China released an official policy proposal, known as a white paper. The document provides details of China’s plans for space exploration for the next five years. It was released by the State Council Information Office last Tuesday.

“To explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is a dream we pursue unremittingly,” the white paper said. China says it will use space for peaceful purposes, to guarantee national security and to carry out new scientific research according to the paper.

Is China militarising space? Experts say new junk collector could be used as anti-satellite weapon

Craft could be used to attack satellites, according to some researchers

A small spacecraft sent into orbit by the Long March 7 rocket launched from Hainan in southern China on Saturday is tasked with cleaning up space junk, according to the government, but some analysts claim it may serve a military purpose.

The Aolong-1, or Roaming Dragon, is equipped with a robotic arm to remove large debris such as old satellites.

Tang Yagang, a senior satellite scientist with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said the Aolong-1 was the first in a series of craft that would be tasked with collecting man-made debris in space.