China hopes to become the 17th nation joining the International
Space Station (ISS) project, Vice Minister of Science and
Technology Li Xueyong said on Tuesday.
"China sincerely wants to cooperate with the United States in
space exploration and join the International Space Station project
that has already involved 16 nations," said Li, a delegate to the
17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on
the sidelines of the event.
The Chinese government has been pursuing a policy of peaceful
use of airspace, Li said.
The International Space Station is a joint project of 16 nations
including the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil and 11
countries from the European Space Agency.
The station's first segment, the Zarya control module, was
brought to orbit by a Russian Proton rocket in November 1998 to
provide the infant station's battery power and fuel storage.
The station is located in orbit around the Earth at an altitude
of approximately 360 kilometers, a type of orbit usually termed as
low Earth orbit.
Due to the ISS, there is a permanent human presence in space, as
there have always been at least two people on board the station
since the first crew entered it on November 2, 2000.
China will soon launch its first circumlunar satellite as part
of its ambitious moon exploration program enters the stage of
implementation. Development of the satellite, called Chang'e I
after the legendary Chinese goddess Chang'e who flew to the moon,
and the carrier Long March 3A has been completed after numerous
tests.
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2007)