[NormsRevenge]

A Chinese interpreter gathers journalists near the launch platform that launched China's first manned flight last year at the Jiuquan aerospace center near Jiuquan, northwestern China, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004. China's secretive space program opens its gates for the foreign media for the first time Wednesday but excluded most sites from photography. China is planning its second manned flight next year and is seeking cooperation from other countries as it further its space ambition. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

[NormsRevenge]

A paramilitary officer stands guard at the base of a platform that launched China's first manned flight last year at the Jiuquan aerospace center near Jiuquan, northwestern China, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004. China, a rising space power, provided a rare look into its top-secret launch center Wednesday, promoting the military-funded project as a lure for foreign investment and a key to the nation's growing prosperity. It was the first time China let foreign journalists enter, although officials forbade photographs of the command-and-control center. In the background on left is a second new launch platform. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)