China starts construction of fourth space launch centre
15 Sep 2009
Beijing: China has begun erecting its fourth rocket launching centre near the city of Wenchang on the north-east coast of Hainan Island, which is situated in the southern part of the country. The centre is expected to be operational by 2013.
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| Shenzhou 7 |
According to Wang Weichang, director of the new station, the new launch pad would be used for the launch of large space stations, deep space-probe and geo-synchronous satellites. It will also be China's first coastal launch centre.
Future space flights would be launched on a new generation of Long March rockets, the first of which would be launched from Hainan in 2014, according to the China Daily.
Being located close to the equator, the new launch pad is expected to help China garner a larger share of international commercial space launches.
China has an ambitious space plan and competes with Asian rivals India and Japan for a larger profile in space-related activities. It has already put a man in space thanks to the expertise provided it by Russian expatriate scientists and like India has chalked out a large space exploration programme.
