Beijing: China will launch its second experimental space laboratory late on Thursday and another manned space mission next month, the government said, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

Article by Ben Blanchard

Advancing China’s space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power, and apart from its civilian ambitions, Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles.

China insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory, the Tiangong 1, or “Heavenly Palace”.

China will launch the Tiangong 2 just after 10pm (1400 GMT) on Thursday, a space programme spokeswoman told a news conference carried live from the remote launch site in Jiuquan, in the Gobi desert.

The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, will be launched sometime next month, mission spokeswoman Wu Ping said on Wednesday.

The astronauts expect to remain in Tiangong 2 for about a month, Wu added.

A smooth launch would impart a high-tech sheen to week-long celebrations of China’s National Day, starting 1 October, as well as this week’s shorter Mid-Autumn Festival holiday that coincides with the full moon.

“Launching Tiangong 2 is a key battle in comprehensively completing the space laboratory stage mission, and will establish a firm foundation for our country’s continued space station construction and operation,” Wu said.

Work on “quantum key transmission” will eventually be carried out at the laboratory, China’s official Xinhua news agency said. The country launched the world’s first quantum satellite in August, aimed at achieving “hack-proof” communications between space and the ground.

China will launch a “core module” for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official said in April, part of a plan for a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

China has been working to develop its space programme for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the United States and Russia.

China’s Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon in late 2013 to great national fanfare, but soon suffered severe technical difficulties.

The rover and the Chang’e 3 probe that carried it there were the first “soft landing” on the moon since 1976. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had accomplished the feat earlier. Reuters