Expect Launch Sometime Late 2003

China is sticking to plans for a manned space launch this year, confident its rockets are safe, the head of the country's main civilian space agency was quoted Friday as saying.

The comments by Zhang Qingwei, president of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., to the China Daily newspaper were the highest-level affirmation yet of Chinese determination to go ahead with a manned flight.

The communist government hasn't announced a launch date, but earlier reports put it in the second half of this year.

"China put into place its space program long ago, and it will stick to its schedule without being distracted," Zhang was quoted as saying. He was paraphrased as saying a manned launch would take place this year, though the report gave no details.

Out In The Open

A successful flight would make China only the third nation, after Russia and the United States, to send a human into space on its own.

Beijing is believed to have invested at least $1 billion in the program, a symbol of communist-led progress. The sum is large for a country with an annual income per person of about $700.

The military-linked program, begun in 1992, operated until recently in almost total secrecy. But China has been emboldened by four test launches of its Shenzhou space capsule, the latest in January. Shenzhou is based on the Soyuz capsule, the workhorse of Russia's space program.

Was That A Shuttle Dig?

"Technically there is no direct link between China's manned space program and U.S. missions, and China has developed an effective quality-control system in rocket and spacecraft manufacturing, launching and scientific research," the China Daily quoted Zhang as saying.

A spokesman at China Aerospace headquarters in Beijing couldn't confirm the report and said Zhang wasn't available to comment. The man would give only his surname, Li. However, earlier reports from state-controlled media about the space program have been confirmed by officials.

The report Friday noted that China's Long March booster rockets have had 27 successful launches in the past seven years.

The chief capsule designer, Qi Faren, said the two most recent Shenzhou flights showed the craft "met the required standards," the China Daily said.

Chinese engineers cited by earlier reports have noted that in contrast to the 22-year-old Columbia, Shenzhou craft are newly made and meant only for a single flight.

FMI: www.cnsa.gov.cn