China is about to take the first step towards building its own space station with the launch of Tiangong 1, or Heavenly Palace, in a further sign of its race to catch up with the US and Russia.
State media on Tuesday reported that China would next week launch an unmanned craft from the Chinese western Gobi desert that will be used to practise operations at a future space station.
The launch comes as the US is cutting funding for its space programme, having retired its space shuttle fleet after a last flight of the Atlantis in July.
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