Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program, attends a handover ceremony for the return capsule of the Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft in Shaoshan, central China's Hunan Province, Dec. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo)
China will launch the core module of the country's first space station in the first half of 2021, Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space project, said on Friday.
The space station is expected to be completed around 2022. All testing of its core module has been completed, and the Long March 5B rocket, a heavy-lift launch vehicle that made its maiden flight in May, is also in its final stages of testing, he said.