Guo Baozhu, deputy director of China National Space Administration (CNSA), said that China is going to develop new-generation rocket satellites for civil spaceflight during the 10th Five-year Plan period (2001-5) at an international seminar held recently.

As reported by Liberation Daily, it is the first time for CNSA to disclose its detailed program for civil spaceflight development during the 10th Five-year Plan period after China published its "White Paper on China's Space Activities" at the end of last year. The gross investment of the program will largely surpass investments in civil spaceflight during the 9th Five-year Plan period. The key items for the development of civil spaceflight during the 10th Five-year Plan period include:

--To develop large-capacity broadcasting and telecommunications satellites. Social informationization progress brings a demand growth for telecom satellite transmitters. Commercial consumers focus on large-capacity, high reliability and long-service-life broadcasting and telecommunication satellites. China will intensify the momentum of investment in such causes and expedite the development of large capacity broadcasting and telecommunication satellites so as to initially set up China's satellite telecom industry.

--To carry out research on new-generation launch vehicles, upgrade the overall level and capacity of launch vehicles and improve the performance and reliability of the "Long-March" group. China will develop new-generation launch vehicles non-toxic, non-polluting, high-performance and low-cost qualities so as to form a new group of launch vehicles and work for raised capability of providing international commercial launching services.

--To set up oceanic satellite system. China will carry out oceanic monitoring with a satellite remote-sensing application system which is very important and urgent for protecting China's oceanic rights and interests, exploiting oceanic resources and mitigating oceanic disasters. It plans to launch its first oceanic satellite HY-1 in 2001 to fill in a national gap in oceanic satellites.

--To secure double-satellite space exploration program. To explore the earth's magnetic layers, China will implement a double-satellite space exploration program, i.e., to situate the orbit of one satellite in the direction of the magnetic pole of the earth, another near the equatorial plane, then harmonize the two satellites to conduct large-scale space exploration.

-- To set up resource satellite system. China will continue developing new-generation satellites following No. 1 Resource satellite and Resource series so as to give full play of their unique functions. Among the numerous programs which may exert tremendous influence on national economy are included "1999-2010 Land and Resources Inspection", "China Desertification Monitoring", "Monitoring on crop growth and estimation of crop output", disaster monitoring and evaluation, environmental pollution monitoring, project site selection and stability evaluation, urban planning, surveying and drafting, etc.

--To gradually build up an earth environmental observation system composed of a small group of satellites. China plans to launch a group of satellites for environmental observation. It will conduct 24-hour, all-weather and constant monitoring on disaster and environment of the earth with a complete satellite remote-sensing application system.

(People's Daily 04/23/2001)