MINSK, 11 September (BelTA) – China's first cosmonaut, Director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office Yang Liwei talked to reporters on the sidelines of the 31st planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers in Minsk on 11 September and mentioned China's plans to launch an orbital station of its own, BelTA has learned.

Yang Liwei said: “We intend to insert into orbit our own space station. All the assets have been channeled into it. I've made a report on this topic during the congress. It is an open project. We invite other countries to participate in it.” China's multimodule orbital station is supposed to become the world's third orbital station after Mir and the ISS. The station is scheduled for launch in 2022.

Yang Liwei noted that the planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers allows sharing information and opinions between cosmonauts and space industry experts from various countries. “International space cooperation can be developed in many areas, including the remote sensing of Earth,” added the head of the Chinese space agency.

The 31st planetary congress of the Association of Space Explorers is taking place in Minsk on 9-15 September. Over 80 cosmonauts and astronauts from 17 countries are taking part in it. “We create space future” is the theme of the congress. This morning space explorers laid flowers at the Victory Monument in Minsk. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus will host two panel sessions today to discuss “Our future in outer space”.

The Association of Space Explorers is an international not-for-profit organization established in 1985 to share the best practices in the area of manned space flights. The ASE planetary congress gathers cosmonauts and representatives of scientific research institutions and national space agencies every year.