CHINA SET TO LAUNCH SPACECRAFT "TIANGONG 1"

　　Seeking prestige and bragging rights over regional neighbors, China prepares to launch this unmanned space capsule. Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace, is set to blast off later this week. More missions and space lab launches are expected to follow, with a manned expedition within two years. In 2007, China shot down one of its weather satellites with a missile, prompting fears it had the ability to target military assets in space.

　　But security experts say the country's space program is a matter of national pride, not defense. World security institute researcher Matt Durnin said "The fact of the matter is that these platforms just aren't ideal for testing or using military technologies, there are much more economical and direct ways to do that and we see China actually doing those applications so its, I think, its fairly unlikely that this is really a focal point of the military programme."

　　Following Russia and the US, China became the third country to send a man into space in 2003. And in 2008, one of its astronauts made a space walk that was broadcast at home to awe struck crowds.

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