Satellite Center to Put Wenchang on the Map

A worker welds at the construction site of the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan Province, which is expected to be completed in June and welcome its first launch in 2014. [Xinhua]

The construction of the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan Province, from where China will launch new-generation carrier rockets and future space station modules, is expected to be completed in June, the province's economic planner said.

By the end of this year, the launch center, the fourth in China, will be ready for launching carrier rockets, according to a report released by the Hainan Development and Reform Commission during the ongoing annual session of the provincial people's congress.

Hainan plans to invest nearly 3.3 billion yuan (US$530 million) this year into construction of the center and relevant facilities, including a space theme park and nearby infrastructure, the report said.

Of the 3.3 billion yuan, 2.5 billion will be used for the center's construction, the report said.

Pei Chengmin, Party chief of Wenchang, said the center will host its first launch in 2014.

The center will include a launch pad, a rocket assembly plant and a command center.

The Long March-5 launch vehicle designed for transporting heavyweight satellites and space station modules, as well as the Long March-7 rocket designed for launching cargo spacecraft, are expected to blast off from the center in 2014, the Beijing Morning Post quoted Liang Xiaohong, deputy director of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology on Saturday during the annual session of the Beijing municipal people's congress.