BEIJING: China plans to launch an unmanned space module, Tiangong-1, which is expected to accomplish the country's first space docking, next year, an expert said on Wednesday.

Tiangong, which means Heavenly Palace, would finally be transformed into a manned space lab after experimental dockings with three Shenzhou spacecraft, expected to be put into space within two years following the module's launch, Qi Faren, former chief designer of Shenzhou spaceships and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said on Wednesday.

A spokesman of China's space program said in February last year that the country had planned to launch the unmanned module into orbit as early as the end of 2010. Qi said the delay was due to technical reasons.

Weighing about 8.5 tons, Tiangong-1 is able to perform long-term unattended operations, an essential step toward building a space station.

When transformed into a manned space lab, Tiangong-1 would provide a "safe room" for Chinese astronauts to live and conduct research in zero gravity, Qi said.

Its scheduled docking with the unmanned Shenzhou-VIII spacecraft would be the country's first space docking. Scientists on the ground would control the docking between the orbiter and the unmanned spaceship.

Qi said Shenzhou-IX and Shenzhou-X, the two other spaceships to dock with Tiangong-1, would carry two or three astronauts each.

Experts say space docking has been widely recognized as one of the most sophisticated space technologies since it requires the precise control of two high-speed spacecraft, which meet and dock in space.

Qi said other key technologies are the replenishment of propellant, air, water and food, as well as a regenerating life support systems for the space module.

Liang Xiaohong, a member of CPPCC National Committee and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, said Tiangong-1 would be launched on a technologically-modified Long March II-F carrier rocket.

An experimental model of the improved rocket has been assembled and will be sent to a satellite launch center for training missions to test its accuracy, reliability and safety capabilities.

Xinhua