China's Tiangong Space Station

China’s space station plan emerged in the mid-1980s in the wake of a global race to establish permanent human presence in space. The Soviet Union had already launched a number of Salyut/Almaz space stations and began to assemble a new multi-module station Mir. The United States government unveiled its ambitious plan to build Space Station Freedom. Japan and Europe also announced their plans to send human into space. Chinese space professionals believed that the country should have its own space station to avoid falling behind. The goal of constructing an Earth-orbiting manned space station was set very early on in China’s manned space planning. More

(Source: IndraStra Global - Oct 29)