After four successful unmanned space flights, China is picking up the pace in developing its first manned spacecraft, the "Shenzhou V," said sources with the China Research Institute of Space Technology, developer of the first four Shenzhous.
Among the seven major participants in China's manned space flight project, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. is responsible for developing and making the craft and rocket.
The institute affiliated to the corporation obtained important results from the former four crafts' scientific experiments on space science, life science and aerial observation, and are ready to finish building the craft that could send men into space within the year, according to the sources.
China's space authority said the assessment of Shenzhou IV's flight showed it has reached the standard of carrying humans to space in terms of reliability and safety.
The institute also is developing a massive telecommunications satellite, a second generation navigational satellite system and the technology for moon exploration.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2003)
