Chinese Space

China says it plans to launch its first space station later this year. It will also launch an unmanned ship to the station to develop its rendezvous and docking expertise. The station will be comparable in size to the U. S. Skylab space station of the 1970s. Next year, China plans to launch two separate manned missions to the station. All in all, the planned activities represent a quickening of the pace of the Chinese manned space program.

The first space station is expected to last about two years. After that, China plans a much larger space station that will be dedicated to scientific research.