BEIJING (AP) — China plans to launch space labs and manned ships
and prepare to build space stations over the next five years,
according to a plan released Thursday that shows the country’s
space program is gathering momentum. China has already said its
eventual goals are to have a space station and put an astronaut
on the moon. It has made methodical progress with its ambitious
lunar and human spaceflight programs, but its latest five-year
plan beginning next year signals an acceleration. By the end of
2016, China will launch space laboratories, manned spaceship and
ship freighters, and make technological preparations for the
construction of space stations, according to the white paper
setting out China’s space progress and future missions. China’s
space program has already made major breakthroughs in a
relatively short time, although it lags far behind the United
States and Russia in space technology and experience. The
country will continue exploring the moon using probes, start
gathering samples of the mo