China's plan to send its people into space dates back to 1970, but the program was cancelled due to lack of funds.

It was Jiang who gave the green light for the program to resume in 1992 and over the past decade gave it the financial support it needed.

"It was Deng Xiaoping's initiative initially, ... but there's no doubt Jiang Zemin will get some benefits," said Arthur Ding, a Taiwan-based China analyst who is now a Fullbright scholar in Harvard.

In the early 1980s, Jiang's predecessor, the late leader Deng, gave the space program freedom to go commercial, leading to the launching of satellites for companies and other countries.

But Deng is dead, and Jiang will likely try to take the credit, observers say.

Jiang personally named China's first prototype spaceship "Shenzhou" or Divine Vessel. Shenzhou V will make the maiden manned voyage on Wednesday, if widespread speculations about the launch date are true.

The 77-year-old leader has closely followed the space program over his past 13 years in power and travelled to the Jiuquan Launch Center for China's third unmanned space mission on March 25, 2001.

His proteges, then vice premier and current legislative chairman Wu Bangguo, and Zeng Qinghong, current vice president, accompanied him to the site.

This time, Jiang is reportedly among a group of top leaders, including his successor President Hu Jintao, who will be at the launch in northwest China which will see at least one astronaut sent into orbit.

Jiang stepped down from his posts as state president and general secretary of the communist party last year but retained his position as military chairman in a move seen as evidence of his refusal to relinquish power.

He is even scheduled to speak with the astronaut during orbit.

"He will steal Hu Jintao's limelight. And knowing Hu Jintao's personality, Hu will let him," said Ding.

"Jiang is just chairman of the Central Military Commission. He's just an average communist party member now. Going to Jiuquan to participate in the launch is yet another example of the dilemma in the contradictions of Jiang and Hu's power."

Analysts said a successful space mission could help boost the legitimacy of the communist party and one of the main beneficiaries will be Jiang.

"If China is successful in sending a man into space, there are people in China who will think the government is really capable and think well of Jiang Zemin who worked so long on the project," said Bao Tong, a well-known dissident.

"This is partly why some people in government think sending a person into space is more important than creating jobs."

But Bao said the benefits Jiang will reap will not be long-lasting as most people in China are more concerned about their own struggles to make a living than space exploration.

"The kind of science China needs is science that can help democratize China, science that can help farmers raise their income, science that can help laid-off workers find work," Bao said.

"When Chinese people see the spacecraft go up, they will be happy, but those who care are few. They are by far fewer than those who worry about the plight of the country's farmers."

The chairmanship of the Central Military Commission is a powerful post, as the chairman essentially controls China's military, and thus arguably the country.

The post requires no age or term limits.

Jiang did not indicate how long he will keep the position although some analysts have speculated he could remain for at least five years.

SPACE.WIRE