The project, which was originally hatched by the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1992, is now the focus of two research groups working to meet the timetable, the Beijing Star Daily reported.

The Chinese telescope will be about one meter (three feet) in diameter, weigh two tonnes and have a lifetime of three years, according to the paper.

The report comes as the world's most populous nation is eagerly waiting to become the third country to put a man into space after Russia and the United States.

The Chinese government has announced that the Shenzhou V manned space vehicle will be launched between October 15 and 17 and orbit the earth 14 times on a 21-hour mission. The landing is scheduled to take place in Inner Mongolia.

The Hubble has provided invaluable information to astronomers since being dropped off in space in April 1990.

The telescope captured the best view of Mars ever obtained from Earth. It also helped gather evidence to support the Big Bang theory and provided the first convincing proof by an optical telescope of the existence of black holes.

The Hubble is scheduled for retirement in 2010, when NASA plans to replace it with a new-generation orbital observatory.

SPACE.WIRE