The news came as part of the announcement which provided a general outline of the space program in the tenth five-year plan. The next five-year plan, abbreviated "10 5", covers the period from 2001 to 2005.

Beginning next year, China will launch several unmanned missions of the Shenzhou spacecraft before sending its first crew of yuhangyuans ("astronauts") in space. Although the announcement did not give a detailed timeline and the number of unmanned and the first manned flights, it hinted at achieving the first manned mission by 2005. In many previous Xinhua dispatches, the year 2005 had been mentioned repeatedly as the timeframe of orbiting yuhangyuans.

Interestingly in the first Chinese long-range space plan, the "China's Space Activities" White Paper which was released last month on the first anniversary of the Shenzhou maiden mission, it gave the broad timeframe of 2010 to achieve the goal of orbiting Chinese yuhangyuans. The difference in the timeframes may reflect the significant degree of uncertainty that the Chinese space community has on the complex and demanding manned space program.

In 1992 China began its manned space program as "Project 921". The Shenzhou ("Divine Vessel") manned spacecraft made a stunning debut a year ago on November 20 when it completed 14 orbits and successfully landed at the predetermined site in the middle of Inner Mongolia.

Earlier this year Chinese media speculated that the second unmanned test mission would take place around the time of the National Day on October 1. The launch did not take place. There were no words on when the second mission might occur. The lengthy pause may be related to technical issues as well as fiscal restraint. Reportedly Shenzhou-2 has incorporated with improvements, including a reduction in weight by more than 100 kg.

Xinhua quoted unnamed sources from relevant departments that the manned space project "will achieve new breakthroughs during '10 5'. ... Currently training of yuhangyuans are carried out according to plan.

"At the same time a manned space project research and test system will begin to develop so as to establish a foundation for the Chinese manned spaceflight system."

The announcement also said that in the tenth five-year plan China would launch more than 30 satellites and spacecraft of 15 different types, and a new generation of launchers. However, Xinhua was vague on the detail breakdown of these satellites. Some of the new satellites and spacecraft will include:

• communications satellites such as the Dongfanghong ("East Is Red") series;
• navigation satellites such as the newly launched Beidou ("Northern Dipper", a reference to the celestial constellation) series;
• meteorological satellites such as the Fengyun ("Wind and Cloud") series;
• transmission-type Earth resource remote sensing satellites such as the Ziyuan ("Resource") series; and
• science exploration and technology testing spacecraft such as the Shijian ("Practice") series.

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