WASHINGTON, July 5 China continues to push forward toward its goal of sending an astronaut into space, with an eye on a piloted launch as early as next year. If successful, China would become the third nation to launch people into space using their own rockets -- a feat only accomplished by the United States and Russia.

According to a Department of Defense report issued to Congress last week, launching an astronaut into space remains a "high priority" for the Chinese space program. That effort may be bolstered by a planned autumn test flight of a next-generation Chinese space capsule that would be used to fly the nations astronauts into orbit.

The Hong Kong daily newspaper Mingpao reported yesterday that the test launch would likely come in October, timed to mark Chinas annual National Day celebration.

The new capsule, called Shenzhou 2, meaning "magic vessel" in Chinese, is about 200 pounds (90 kilograms) lighter than the previous model. The Chinese space agency likely replaced much of the wiring in the craft with circuits and added a full life-support system to the test craft, said Charles Vick, a senior research analyst with the Federation of American Scientists. The changes to the capsule make it more maneuverable and resistant to damage.

The space capsule will be able to carry up to three "taikonauts," a term derived from the Chinese word for space. A group of taikonauts is already being trained for the planned 2001 launch at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in far northwestern China.

A successful launch by the Chinese would mark a significant step toward piloted spaceflight. In November, China launched its Shenzhou spacecraft on a mission that closely resembled a piloted flight. The craft orbited Earth 14 times before landing in Mongolia.

After the test of the Shenzhou 2 spacecraft, the Chinese piloted launch effort will likely undergo a new round of testing before a piloted flight.

"Youve got to be very aware and do lots of preflight testing," Vick said. "They know theyve got to be cautious."

The Chinese space program has developed at a fast clip in recent months, having launched its first version of the Shenzhou rocket only last November. Vick said that though the Chinese have benefited from having the past experiences of the American and Russian space programs to model from, they are still behind the two space superpowers.

"Theyre very much in the mid-to-early-1960s era of the development of their spaceflight program," Vick said. "They still need to get a lot of experience in manned spaceflight before they can be comparable to the U.S. or Russia."

Vick said that the Chinese space program would not be on par with the American or Russian efforts for at least five to 10 years. After China, Vick said, India could be the next nation to make a serious drive toward a piloted launch.