Todays Space Online ............

One of the Chinese satellites will fly an equatorial orbit. The other will be in a polar orbit. They will make observations of the magnetosphere. The ten European instruments in Double Star are identical to those aboard the four Cluster satellites. The Chinese and European scientists hope all six satellites will be operational at the same time so they can coordinate data received from Cluster and Double Star. Studies with similar instruments are expected to increase the scientific return. The equatorial satellite (DSP-1) will be launched on a Changzheng-2C (Long March 2C) rocket from Xichang in south Sichuan province, probably in June 2003. Six months later, another Changzheng-2C would ferry the polar satellite (DSP-2) from Taiyuan in the Shanxi province west of Beijing. Astronomy satellites. China also plans to launch a Space Solar Telescope. The one-meter aperture telescope would be sent to a Sun-synchronous polar orbit in 2005 to observe phenomena on the Sun in daytime. Environmental satellites. China National Space Administration (CNSA) -- China's space agency -- is planning a constellation of four optical and four synthetic aperture radar (SAR) microsatellites to carry out round-the-clock, all-weather surveillance of the environment and disasters. Search and rescue satellites. Two optical satellites and one synthetic aperture radar (SAR) microsatellite would be launched. They would fly over a place on the ground every 32 hours. Navigation satellites. China also has its Beidou Navigation Test Satellites (BNTS). Beidou means "Northern Dipper," a reference to the celestial constellation. Chinese astronauts. China calls its manned spacecraft Shenzhou, which means "Magic Vessel" or "Divine Vessel." Its astronauts are "yuhangyuans." Elsewhere, they sometimes are referred to as "taikonauts." The nation is conducting a series of unmanned test flights of Shenzhou capsules on CZ-2F (Long March 2F) rockets. A monkey, dog, rabbit and snails were sent into orbit aboard the second unpiloted Shenzhou flight. If the test flights go well, the first manned flight might come late in 2002 or early in 2003. [ more about the astronauts ] Chinese lunar probe. China plans to explore the Moon, the official Xinhua News Agency said in 2001, quoting the head of the Chinese National Space Administration. The nation would build a probe to be launched on a Long March rocket. Lunar exploration would allow China to Ñstruggle for a more important place in the world space science field and raise our deep space exploration technology to a higher standard,æ according to Xinhua. Lunar exploration also would have an Ñimmeasurable usefulness to raising national prestige and inspiring the nationalistic spirit,æ Xinhua said. China also is planning to send a man to the Moon, according to the state-run newspaper China Daily in 2001.