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Russia, China to launch ultraviolet observatory in 2010

RIA Novosti

07/11/2006 13:49 SHANGHAI, November 7 (RIA Novosti) - An ultraviolet observatory Russia, China and other countries are building to explore the far reaches of space will begin operating by the end of the decade, Russia's top space official said Tuesday.

The project will involve putting into orbit a satellite fitted with a telescope to study the ultraviolet radiation of as yet invisible celestial bodies in our galaxy's far-flung corners. Ground facilities will monitor the bodies and process data transmitted by the satellite.

"The technological base is Russian throughout, and the Chinese side will contribute by placing the research instrument [the telescope] on board the station and getting a network of ground monitoring stations in the PRC up and running," said Russian Space Agency President Anatoly Perminov, who is on a visit to China as part of a governmental delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov.

Building a lunar spacecraft is another collaborative space project being pursued by Russia and China, Perminov said. China will send the vehicle on its first orbit of the moon in 2007. Russia will join in three years later for an unmanned lunar mission to involve landing, taking photos and sampling soil.

China, which is seeking to raise its global clout through ambitions space programs, shows an increasing interest in Russia's vast expertise as a leading space power. It successfully launched its second manned space spacecraft carrying two Chinese astronauts into orbit in October 2005, just two years after launching the first one.

Both spacecraft - the Shenzhou VI and the Shenzhou V - were modeled on Russia's Soyuz, developed in the late 1960s.