Earlier launch possible for space station modules

The first of three experimental modules for China's planned space station is expected to be launched in 2018, with the other two set for launch in 2020 and 2022, a leading scientist said.

The modules will help form a 60-ton space station.

"We set the date as a preliminary goal," said Gu Yidong, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a leading research expert in manned space stations.