Franklin Chang Lauds China Space Program
Costa Rican astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz lauded China's achievements in space as "extraordinary" during an interview on Wednesday.

"China has achieved some extraordinary things in its space program," said Chang, NASA's first astronaut of Chinese descent. He added that it was very important for China to be included in the world's space community.

"I think that this augurs well for the future collaboration of all the world's nations in space," he said, adding that it made him feel proud of his Chinese roots.

Chang, who was born on April 5, 1950 in San José, was NASA's first astronaut of Chinese descent and the third non-U.S. citizen to go into space. Having completed seven space missions between 1986 and 2002, he is also known for being among the people who have spent the most time in space and have participated the most missions in the world.

The successful flight and return of Shenzhou VI spacecraft last October carrying two Chinese astronauts on a five-day mission represented a landmark for China in its development of manned space technology.

The mission followed the country's first successful manned space flight in October 2003, in which astronaut Yang Liwei completed a 21-hour trip. This made China the third country in the world to send a human being into space after Russia and the United States.

China plans to set up a man-tended space station for the peaceful use of space resources in the coming decades. It is also the first country outside Europe to contribute to Project Galileo -- a 240-million-U.S.-dollar project to develop new satellite navigation systems.