China Eyes First Space Station by Around 2022
China expects to establish its first space station by around 2022, building upon the experience of an experimental module already in orbit, state media said on Wednesday.
China’s leaders have set a priority on advancing its space program, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power.
In China’s manned space mission last year, three astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory, the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1.
Yang Liwei, deputy head of China’s Manned Space Agency and also the country’s first man in space, said the follow-up Tiangong 2 was likely to be launched in about 2016.