China plans to launch 21 rockets, 30 satellites this year

China plans to launch 21 rockets and 30 satellites this year, exceeding its record of 19 rockets and 22 satellites launched in 2010, the main contractor for the country's space program told Xinhua on Wednesday. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) said that the company will strive to ensure the success of all launch missions, including the launch of the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft, which will achieve space rendezvous and docking missions with the orbiting Tiangong-1 vehicle. According to the company's plan for 2011-2015, it will complete 100 launch missions and send 100 satellites into space in the five-year period. The Chinese government has made the space industry an important part of the nation's overall development strategy and adhered to the exploration and utilization of outer space for peaceful purposes, said a white paper on China's space industry released last month.