A Chinese-made DF-1 missile stands out among other military and space equipment on display as the Chinese Military Museum. China, whose space ambitions date back to 1970 when a Chang Zheng (Long March) rocket boosted the country's first satellite into orbit, is set to be the third country in the world to launch a manned space flight, expected to happen in mid-October, as the country continues to develop its space exploration plans.(AFP/Frederic J. Brown)
A Chinese newspaper vendor standing near the cover page of a Chinese newspaper with a photo showing the previous Shenzhou IV at a newstand in Beijing Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2003. China will send its first person into space in a single-orbit, 90-minute flight on Oct. 15, a major Chinese Web site reported in one of the most concrete signs yet that the landmark trip is imminent. (AP Photo)
mage taken by cameras on board the Cassini Orbiter spacecraft and released by NASA shows the Earth's Moon. China's space ambitions will not stop at just sending a person into space; the country plans to send astronauts to the moon, a top national defense official said, quoted by Chinese media. (AFP-NASA/File)