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China Announces a Busy Space Launch Manifest in 2016; Soon to Launch Communication Satellites, Commercial and Military Space Missions

| Jan 15, 2016 10:24 AM EST

China is planning to launch more than 30 space missions in 2017.

According to news gathered from China's major space contractor, China is planning to launch more than 20 space missions in 2016. Announcing its busy schedule for launching more than 20 space missions in 2016, China reiterated its intention to launch a manned spacecraft Shenzhou 11, together with a space laboratory named as Tiangong 2, besides other commercial and military space missions.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp announced its plans to test fly the Long March 5 and Long March 7 rockets, besides launching the manned spacecraft and the space laboratory. In 2015, China had launched 19 orbital missions, and this year, it intends to cross 20, according to news from reliable sources.

Also in the news is the launching of two satellites, which include the one for Beidou Navigation Satellite System, which is developed domestically. The other one is the Gaofen 3, specifically for the Gaofen High-Resolution Earth Observation System.

China is planning to launch most space missions in the year 2016, surpassing 19 in the year 2015, according to a statement given by Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. It also said that the company has plans to launch a communications satellite for Belarus, which signifies the launch of the first communications satellite being exported to Europe for the first time.

The sensational part of the news is that, China, for the first time, will be sending trio astronauts into space aboard the Shenzhou 11, which is scheduled to dock with Tiangong 2, the space laboratory.

This year is going to be a year when China will be showing the world its endeavor for launching most number of orbital missions in a particular year. The first launch scheduled on Jan. 15, when the Long March 3B rocket blasts off the communications satellite for Belarus, named as Belintersat 1. 

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