China to make 6 manned spaceflights in 2022

In 2022, China will finish the construction of its space station and launch the Long March-6A, the country's first carrier rocket fueled by a solid and liquid engine.

Ma Tao, deputy head of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's (CASC) Space Department, announced China's rocket launch plan at a news conference on Wednesday.

CASC, China's rocket series developer and the country's space industry's driving force, has produced the 2021 Blue Book of China Aerospace Science and Technology.

China conducted 55 space launch flights in 2021, ranking first in the world, and the total mass of spacecraft launched reached 191 tonnes, an 85.5 percent rise year on year.

According to He Yang, head of the Beijing Institute of Orbit Science and Technology Information, the CASC sent 103 aircraft into space with 48 launches in 2021.

According to He, the country's other successful space missions last year included three launches of the Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket and one launch of the CERES-1 carrier rocket.

In 2021, the globe witnessed 146 space launches, the most since 1957, with 1,846 spacecraft put into orbit. In 2021, the United States conducted 51 space launch operations, with a total tonnage of spacecraft launched totaling 403.34 tonnes.