China aims to build a leading aerospace industry by 2015, when the country would command 10 percent of the world's commercial satellite market, and 15 percent of the space launch market, Xinhua said on Friday. Beijing was planning to double the number of aerospace scientific research and production bases to eight, said Xinhua, citing a blueprint released by state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC). The primary goal was to provide a package of services to customers, including research, production and testing, Xinhua said. “By 2015, the CASTC would take up 10 percent of the international commercial satellite market, and 15 percent of the world commercial space launch service market,” Xinhua said, citing the state company's blueprint. The plan comes after Boeing Co, one of the world's leading aerospace companies, said in April that the United States was in danger of losing its edge in space to countries such as China and India, without major funding increases from the government. US government space spending rose 3.4 percent in 2007 from 2006.
