Chinese State Council Approves 2006-2010 National Space Development Plan

May 11 (EIRNS) -The Chinese State Council yesterday approved in principle China's 11th Five Year Plan 2006-10 for national space development, Xinhua reported. Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan spoke at a conference on the next phase of China's space development, where he said that priority should be given to a manned space flight, lunar exploration, a new launch vehicle, and high-resolution earth observation. He said China should promote industrialization of space technologies, particularly to develop satellites for telecommunication, navigation and remote sensing. These space technologies would support and lead China's economy, he said, and called for non-governmental as well as public investment in the space sector.