The Fifth China International Space Technology Exhibition opened on November 24 in the Beijing Exhibition Hall. The Global Navigation Satellite System or the Galileo Program, an initiative launched by the European Union (EU), and China's re-entry module Shenzhou V became the spotlights of the exhibition. Items on display also included space food, space clothing, parachutes and moon-buggies.

This is the first cooperation between China and the EU Galileo Program Commission. Major Chinese aerospace scientific-research manufacturing enterprises and remote sensing, geographic information system and GPS technology application research manufacturing enterprises, as well as EU's Galileo Program participants, made their debut at the exhibition at the same time.

During the exhibition, an international conference on satellite navigation technology is also on-going, in which European and Chinese experts in space technology and application introduce up-to-date space application technology, research developments of the Galileo Program, relevant commercial plans and Chinese policies.

The Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) has officially been approved by the EU Council of Ministers. With a group of 30 satellites distributed in three inclined orbits, the program is estimated to cost 3.6 billion Euros.

The arrival of the Galileo Program participants will help build up a cooperative platform for Chinese and foreign experts to conduct technological exchanges in the field of applied satellite technology. The exhibition will last four days to November 27.

This year's exhibition is undertaken by the China Great Wall Industry Corporation with the support of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, China National Space Administration, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. 

The first China International Space Technology Exhibition was held in 1994.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting and Daragh Moller, November 26, 2003)