November 7, 2007 (LPAC)--Leading Chinese spacecraft designer Long Lehao, for the first time set a timetable of 2020 for China's launch of its own space station, or “workshop,” as reported today in China Daily. The 20-ton module, which would be serviced by Shenzhou manned spacecraft, would be quite small in comparison to the half-million-ton International Space Station, which China has not been allowed to join. But China would be only the third country, after the Soviet Union and the U.S., to provide a facility for the long-term presence for humans in space.

Later in the day, Xinhua reported that Li Guoping, a spokesman for the China National Space Administration, told a press conference that the government had not issued a specific plan for a space station, but said that the national plan only goes to 2010, which appears to leave the space station door open.

Over the past week, China has announced that it is proceeding apace with its next-generation Long March 5 rocket, which will be needed for heavy Earth-orbiting payloads, and to land men on the Moon. The key technology needed for this up-graded launcher, which will be able to place 25 tons into Earth orbit, is liquid hydrogen fueled engines, which Long said are now undergoing ignition testing.

But before the new rocket is ready, the Long March 3A, which is in service now, will be able to launch China's next lunar project, which will land a small rover on the Moon. Recently, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has remarked that even with its current rocket technology, China could send men to orbit, though not land, on the Moon. China has also targeted the 2020 timeframe for its first manned lunar landing.