The first Shenzhou capsule lifts off atop a Long March rocket.

China plans to launch its first astronauts in late 2002 following more unmanned test flights of the Shenzhou test capsule, according to Japanese news reports.

The Daily Yomiuri and The Yomiuri Shimbun credit a senior official at the state-run Chinese General Company of Aeronautics Industry, Dai Zhing Liang, with the information.

Dai reportedly told interviewers that the schedule calls for up to three more unmanned test flights of the Shenzhou design before moving on to manned missions. It is still unclear if any changes in the spacecraft will be made to improve performance or safety after lessons learned during the unmanned missions.

Dai told the Yomiuri that the first manned flight was set for launch in late 2002, with other missions following closely behind.

China has already launched two unmanned Shenzhou missions in its infant manned space program. Shenzhou 1 launched in November 1999 and orbited the Earth 14 times in 21 hours before returning to the planet with a touchdown in Inner Mongolia. Shenzhou 2 took place in January of this year and circled the planet for about a week.

But unlike the first Shenzhou, China has yet to release photos of the second craft following its landing. That has caused some Western observers to speculate the capsule was damaged.

The second Shenzhou's orbital module is still in space where it will conduct experiments and tests over the coming months.