Chinese space authorities planning to send 40 different aircraft into orbit One of the ships will be 'space bus' which can launch 10 satellites at once Yuanzheng 1 - China's largest ever rocket - can restart its engine 20 times It became third country to launch manned space mission in October 2003 In 2013, 'soft-landed' first object on the moon since Soviet mission in 1976

By Jay Akbar For Mailonline

Published: 08:43 EST, 18 March 2015 | Updated: 08:53 EST, 18 March 2015

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China's space authorities have announced plans to launch over 40 different spacecrafts into orbit in 20 separate launches this year.

One of the vessels to be launched is the ground-breaking Yuanzheng 1 - also known as the 'space bus' - which can launch 10 different satellites at once.

2013 was a massive year for China whose scientists launched 16 spacecraft to firmly establish their cosmic credentials.

In October 2003, it became only the third country in history to independently launch a manned mission into space on the Shenzhou 5.

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China plans 20 space launches this year including maiden flight of its own space shuttle