China plan to launch 100 satellites by 2015

China has planned to fill the sky with its satellites, launching a total of 100 by 2015. It will also carry out the first manned space rendezvous with the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft this year.

Zhang Jianheng, deputy general manager of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp said that,"the densely arranged launch missions and flight tests have posed an unprecedented challenge to the country's space program”.

The plan is to stay ahead of the United States launching an average of 20 satellites a year. China crossed the US tally of 18 satellite launches in 2011 by sending out 20 of them last year.

But Russia continued to lead the world by launching 36 satellites in 2011.

China has an ambitious plan of launching 30 satellites in 2012, Zhang told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the Chinese parliament, where he is a legislator.

China conducted its first space docking experiment last year to build a space station of its own by 2020.

The new space missions included launching the third lunar probe, Chang'e-3 next year and conduct a moon landing and lunar explorations.

China launched the Change-1 in 2007 and the Chang'e-2 2010.

China plans to launch new Spaceships in 2012

China plans to launch in 2012 spaceships named Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10, which are expected to dock with China's first space lab module. Tiangong 1 is expected to be joined soon by three separate unmanned Chinese spacecraft — Shenzhou 8, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 — that will spot China's first attempt at docking maneuvers in space.

Shenzhou 8 is expected to be launched on a 12-day mission in November, while Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 are scheduled to lift off during 2012. One or both of these latter missions may carry the first astronauts to Tiangong 1.

The International Space Station orbits Earth in a 51.6-degree inclined orbit, 233 miles by 248 miles (376 by 399 kilometers) high and is visible from 95 percent of the inhabited land on Earth.

But Tiangong 1 orbits Earth at a somewhat lower inclination of 42.8 degrees and at a lower 122-by-214- mile (197 by 345 kilometer) altitude. As such, it is visible from about 80 percent of inhabited land areas. Tiangong 1 can occasionally appear to arc high across the sky, even passing directly overhead at times.