China to Launch Historic First Manned Space Flight; Top China Space Program Expert Available for Interviews

10/9/2003

From: Noel L. Gerson of the CNA Corporation, 703-824-2758 or gersonn@cna.org

News Advisory:

-- Next week space will likely to become more crowded. China is expected to launch its first manned space flight. Only the third country to do so.

-- Only the United States and Russia have successfully launched manned spacecraft.

-- China continues to illustrate its intent on a long-term, manned presence in space. They have also previously announcements its intentions to build a space station and explore the Moon. They also have a steadily expanding constellation of Chinese satellites

-- The implications for the United States are likely to be profound -- especially in light of the Columbia tragedy, ongoing Sino-American concerns over Taiwan, and the evolving situation in the Western Pacific in general, are likely to be profound.

Dean Cheng has spent over a decade studying Chinese and Asian security and economic issues. He is a graduate of Princeton University and MIT and is fluent in Chinese. He is a senior research analyst at the CNA Corporation (CNAC), a not-for-profit think-tank. He specializes in Chinese security issues, with an emphasis on China's space program.

Dean Cheng has written numerous papers examining the military and technology aspects of the Chinese space program. He has spoken at the George Washington University Space Policy Institute, the National Defense University, and the Heritage Foundation on this subject. His views on the Chinese space program have been cited in US News & World Report, Space.com, Phoenix TV (Hong Kong), and the Far Eastern Economic Review and in other media.

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CNAC, a nonprofit think tank, has conducted objective research and analysis since 1942. For more information, visit http://www.cna.org.