THE TIMES
October 17, 2003

China plans station in space for the Great Leap Skyward
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By Oliver August

As China's first man in space returned to cheering crowds yesterday,
Beijing announced plans for a permanent space laboratory manned by Chinese
scientists in competition with the US-Russian station.

"The maiden manned spaceflight is the first step of China's space
programme," said Xie Mingbao, a leading engineer. The next stage would be
a space station, he said.

The announcement hints at the country's growing confidence following the
successful launch of the Shenzhou 5, which has triggered feverish interest
across China. "Great Leap Skyward," the China Daily newspaper enthused.

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Despite its many plans for further space exploration, China has ruled out
building an American-style space shuttle. It also disputed foreign
estimates of the cost involved in building and launching the craft,
claiming the price tag was a mere £1.5 billion. Western analysts have
suggested the 11-year programme will so far have cost China close to £13
billion.

Mr Xie said 60 per cent of China's budget was spent on "consumable
equipment" such as rocket boosters, while 40 per cent paid for control
centres and other "technology infrastructure that can be used on future
missions".

But despite talk of a permanent space laboratory China has no plans to
rush back to the cosmos. Space officials said the next manned flight was a
year or two away. On the list for future flights are spacewalks and
exercises in docking two spacecraft.