China will launch more than 50 small satellites, each weighing less than 1,000 kilograms, in next 5 to 10 years, a Xinhua News report said.
'The 50 small satellites and their systems will be widely applied in observation, scientific experiments and environment and disaster monitoring,' a source with the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CASIC), was quoted as saying.
The CASIC, the country's leading space company, was introducing its latest technologies, including the three small satellites for the 'Kua Fu Mission' to probe the Sun-Earth environment.
China has launched several high-performance small satellites, such as the HY-1A ocean monitoring satellite, since 2001, the report said.
China had world-leading technologies in building small satellites, said the CASIC spokesperson, who also revealed that China was actively researching a new type of small carrier rocket to meet the increasing satellite demand and will conduct the first launch around 2010.