It was announced in July 2001 would China will launch two small satellites on one rocket. The first would be an engineering test satellite developed by Tsinghua University. The second would be an educational satellite for use by Chinese high school students for satellite and earth observation over a two year period. China planned to build 300 ground stations for the student project. Launch was to have taken place by the end of 2001. The Tsinghua University Space Center was working on four nanosatellites as of May 2001, including the 10-kg MEMS technology test platform, to be launched in 2002; a 50-kg design; a 100-kg nanosatellite developed jointly with Surrey University; and a 1-kg picosatellite.

Mass: 100 kg (220 lb).

• 2004 April 18 - Naxing 1 - Launch Site: Xichang. Launch Vehicle: CZ-2C. Mass: 25 kg (55 lb). Perigee: 599 km (372 mi). Apogee: 616 km (382 mi). Inclination: 97.70 deg. Period: 96.80 min.

  Naxing 1 (a contraction of Nami Weixing 'Nanosatellite') was designed for high-tech experiments. The satellite was developed and will be used by the elite Qinghua University and the Aerospace Qinghua Satellite Technologies Co. Ltd.

• McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Report (Internet Newsletter), Harvard University, Weekly, 1989 to Present. Essential internet newsletter recording worldwide weekly space events. Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.

• Chen Lan, Dragon in Space, . The best source anywhere for information on current news regarding the Chinese space program. Accessed at: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/1921/.