China is to build its fourth space launch center, meant to serve the next-generation rocket carriers that do emit poisonous and polluting gasses and new-type spacecraft, Xinhua reports. Official sources told the news agency that the location chosen is Wenchang, somewhere in China's southernmost Hainan Province. The plan has already been approved by China's State Council and the Central Military Commission.

China built its first rocket launch site in Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert starting in 1958. The other two space launch facilities are located in Taiyuan (Shanxi province in the north) and in Xichang (the southwestern province of Sichuan).

After Wenchang becomes operational, there will be a clear task list for each of the four launch centers: the next-generation Wenchang  will be mainly used for launching synchronous satellites, heavy satellites, large space stations, and deep space probe satellites; Jiuquan will continue to launch re-entry satellites and manned spacecraft; Taiyuan will launch satellites that orbit the Sun; and the Xichang launch facility will only be used for emergency missions.

Wenchang, located on the southern island province of Hainan, is about 38 miles away from the provincial capital Haikou. As such, the site is close to the Equator which makes it well suited for launches because lower latitudes have stronger centrifugal forces, reducing the amount of energy required to launch rockets. The city has more than 100,000 inhabitants and is the source from where most overseas Hainanese migrated.

Wenchang Satellite Launch Center (WSLC) is to be located at 19°19'0"N, 109°48'0"E. The space launch center will not be built from scratch, as it already is a former sub-orbital test center and will only see massive expansion and revamping. It is, as obvious from its coordinates, only 19 degrees north of the equator. It is capable of launching the new heavy lift CZ-5 booster (see photo) which is currently under development. The city's seaport will also allow for easy delivery of the new 5 meters core boosters.

China's next-generation rocket carriers do emit poisonous and polluting gasses, Xinhua reports, and the new space centre will be able to deal with those emissions. China is the third country to send a manned space mission, in 2003, decades after Russia and the United States.