China to Launch Space Station in 2018, Aims to Become Next 'Space Giant'

The Chinese recently celebrated Space Day with the proclamation of their mission to Mars. But they set their eyes for more than that. China wanted to become the next space giant and in order to make that happen, they are developing their own Space Station which is scheduled to be launched in 2018.

During the recent Space Day celebration, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his desire to make China a "space giant". He said in a report that, "Becoming an aerospace power has always been a dream we've been striving for."

In his speech, he asked for the help of experts and scientists to make this dream a reality. The president also commended the ardent contributor to China's manned space program. Zhou Jianping, Chief engineer said, "It's our next goal to reuse manned spacecraft. We want to make our space exploration cost-effective."

Currently, China is building more state-of-the-art space labs. They are also preparing for their Mission to Mars in 2020. The success of this project will exhibit their capability to become the next space giant, that's why their scientists are working tirelessly to make it happen.

In a report by CCTV News, the Space Day coincides with the anniversary of the first Chinese satellite the "Dong Fang Hong". The National Space Administration announced that the country wanted to mark their centenary in 2021 with their ambitious space exploration and space science missions.

Zhang Rongqiao, chief designer of the first Mars exploration mission said in an interview with CCTV that there's a success rate of 50-50 in worldwide attempts to reach Mars. And China is confident in making a successful Mars mission in 2020. Rongquiao said "Such a big plan to achieve orbiting, landing and rover deploying in one mission will make a legend. Only by completing this Mars probe mission can China say it has embarked on the exploration of deep space in the true sense."

Aside from their Mars mission, China also wanted to launch their own space station which means they will have full autonomy and control over their space exploration projects.

In another report by CCTV they quoted the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp who stated that the country plans to their first space station in 2018.

Wang Zhongyang, spokesperson of the corporation, said that there will be two space labs docked to the module. China is developing their space power in order to become the next space giant. China is set to send Tiangong-2, their second orbiting space lab, to space this year. The first was Tiangong-1 launched in 2011.

And in 2017, a cargo ship, Tanzhou-1 will be sent to dock with their existing Tiangong-2 in space. China is also building a space telescope similar to the Hubble Space.

With funding, scientists and dedication, it is not impossible for China to develop such technologies and who knows, they might just become the next space giant if all their plans come into fruition.