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China is boldly going in space exploration where it has not gone before by launching a fourth unmanned spacecraft and a record number of satellites.

It will make the space exploration mission and launch up to nine satellites by the end of next year, a top aerospace official said yesterday.

Zhang Qingwei, president of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, said the final touches were being put to the launch of "Shenzhou IV" (Divine Vessel IV), which is scheduled for around January 1.

Zhang, a delegate to the ongoing 16th Party Congress, said the mission is hurtling China's space programme ever closer to manned flights.

China will catapult up to nine satellites into orbit next year to serve national economy and defence purposes, a record number for the 12-month period, he told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

Compared with the previous three unmanned space capsules launched between 1999 and March this year, Shenzhou IV represents the country's most sophisticated and fullest preparations to finalizing its goal of manned space flights, he said.

"The new spacecraft boasts the most complete systems needed for manned mission," Zhang said.

To guarantee the safety of astronauts, Shenzhou III's carrier rocket was equipped with a fault-detecting and handling system. Shenzhou IV is further supported by a search and rescue system based at ground-level and reinforced by other more reliable safety measures, he said.

Efforts such as practising escapes from a space capsule have been made to ensure the safety of astronauts, which is the yardstick that China will use to gauge if it needs more unmanned test flights, he said.

Similar to Shenzhou III, the new spacecraft will be also fitted with "dummy astronauts." No animal has ever been on board one of China's unmanned space flights, he said.

"If the test flight of Shenzhou IV is successful, I can envision that a manned space flight is just around the corner," he said, declining to give a timetable.

He also said that 14 Chinese astronauts - picked from thousands of air force pilots - have undergone training courses on Shenzhou III and IV spacecraft.

In fact, preparations for the next step have already begun - the country is close to breakthroughs in technology related to spaceship docking, space walks, space labs and deep-space exploration, he revealed.

China launched its manned space programme in 1992, which is made up of seven systems, including those of astronaut and spacecraft scientific application and a landing field, said a spokesman for the programme.

Zhang also said that China plans to develop at least 30 satellites by the end of 2005. It will also launch more than 20, which will be used for telecommunications, navigation, weather forecasting, natural resources and marine development and environmental and disaster monitoring.