Posted: Mon, Jun 14, 2004, 1:43 PM ET (1743 GMT)
The Chinese government is planning to fly at least one woman into space later this decade, but not as a pilot, according to news reports published Monday. Chinese officials plan to select the first female members of its astronaut corps in late 2005 or early 2006, with the first of them to fly by 2010, according to the Xinhua news agency. The women selected would be researchers, not pilots; that role will continue to be held exclusively by male astronauts. The women would receive between three and five years of training that would include "training designed according to women's physiological characteristics," according to the report. China has conducted one manned spaceflight to date, in October 2003, with plans to fly its next manned mission in the latter half of 2005. China is also reportedly planning to develop a rudimentary space station that would be serviced by Shenzhou spacecraft.

Related Links:

•  Xinhua article
•  AFP article
•  AP article