The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the
China National Space Administration
China National Space Administration (CNSA; ) is the government agency of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation, including organizing or leading foreign exchanges ...
(CNSA). China's space program has overseen the development and launch of ballistic missiles, thousands of
artificial satellites
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
,
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
, and the broader
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
.
The technological roots of the Chinese space program trace back to the 1950s, when, with the help of the newly-allied
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, China began development of its first
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
and
rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
programs in response to the perceived American (and,
later
Later may refer to:
* Future, the time after the present
Television
* ''Later'' (talk show), a 1988–2001 American talk show
* '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a British music programme since 1992
* ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', or ...
, Soviet) threats.DF-1
GlobalSecurity.org
GlobalSecurity.org is an American nonpartisan, independent, nonprofit organization that serves as a think tank, and research and consultancy group. Focus
The site is focused on national and international security issues; military analysis, syste ...
. Driven by the successes of Soviet
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...
and American
Explorer 1
Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States in 1958 and was part of the U.S. participation in the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The mission followed the first two satellites the previous year; the Soviet Union's ...
satellite launches in 1957 and 1958 respectively, China would launch its first satellite,
Dong Fang Hong 1
''Dong Fang Hong 1'' (), in the western world also known as China 1 or PRC 1, was the first space satellite of the People's Republic of China (PRC), launched successfully on 24 April 1970 as part of the PRC's Dongfanghong space satellite prog ...
in April of 1970 aboard a
Long March 1
The Long March 1 (长征一号), also known as the Changzheng-1 (CZ-1), was the first member of China's Long March rocket family. Like the U.S.'s and the Soviet Union's first rockets, it was based on a class of ballistic missiles, namely the D ...
rocket making it the fifth nation to place a satellite in
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...
. A year later, China began development on a crewed space mission but, under pressure from Mao's Cultural Revolution on
academics
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
, was shut down and resources put to China's first
reconnaissance satellite
A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications.
The ...
program,
Fanhui Shi Weixing
The Fanhui Shi Weixing () series of satellites was China's first reconnaissance satellite program. The satellites were used for military reconnaissance and civilian imagery tasks and completed 23 missions between November 1974 and April 2016. The ...
, which had its maiden launch in November 1975. Chinese first crewed space program began in earnest several decades later, when an accelerated program of technological development culminated in
Yang Liwei
Yang Liwei (; born 21 June 1965) is a major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut at the People's Liberation Army.
In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This mission, Shenzh ...
's successful 2003 flight aboard Shenzhou 5. This achievement made China the third country to independently send humans into space.
Today, the Chinese space program is statedly pursuing multiple sample-return missions and a manned mission to the Moon, space transportation, in-orbit maintenance of
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
quantum communications
Quantum information science is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the analysis, processing, and transmission of information using quantum mechanics principles. It combines the study of Information science with quantum mechanics, qu ...
, orbiter and sample-return missions to Mars, and exploration missions throughout the Solar System and deep space.
History
Early years
After the launch of mankind's first artificial satellite,
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...
, by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
on October 4, 1957, Mao Zedong decided during the National Congress of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
on May 17, 1958, to make China an equal with the superpowers (), by adopting ''Project 581'' with the objective of placing a satellite in orbit by 1959 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the PRC's founding. This goal would be achieved in three phases: developing
sounding rocket
A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are used to ...
s first, then launching small satellites, and in the final phase, large satellites.
During the cordial Sino-Soviet relations of the 1950s, the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
(USSR) had engaged in a cooperative technology transfer program with China, which helped kick-start the Chinese space program. However, the friendly relationship between the two countries soon turned to confrontation due to ideological differences in Marxism. As a consequence, all Soviet technological assistance was abruptly withdrawn after the 1960
Sino-Soviet split
The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism–Len ...
, and Chinese scientists continued on the program with extremely limited resources and knowledge.
The first successful launch and recovery of a T-7A(S1) sounding rocket carrying a biological experiment (transporting eight white mice) was on July 19, 1964, from
Base 603
Guangde Rocket Launch Site () also known as Base 603 (603基地) is a suborbital launch site that was operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences located in Shijiedu (), Shijie Town (), Guangde County, Xuancheng Prefecture, Anhui province on t ...
(). As the
space race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...
between the two superpowers reached its climax with the conquest of the Moon, Mao and
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
decided on July 14, 1967, that the PRC should not be left behind, and started China's own crewed space program. China's first spacecraft designed for human occupancy was named ''Shuguang-1'' () in January 1968. China's Space Medical Institute () was founded on April 1, 1968, and the Central Military Commission issued the order to start the selection of astronauts. As part of the "third line" effort to relocate critical defense infrastructure to the relatively remote interior (away from the Soviet border), it was decided to construct a new space center in the mountainous region of
Xichang
Xichang, formerly known as Jiandu, Jianchang and Ningyuan(fu), is a city in and the seat of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, in the south of Sichuan, China. In 2012 it had a population of 481,796.
History
The Qiongdu were the local peo ...
in the
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
province, code-named
Base 27
There are many different numeral systems, that is, writing systems for expressing numbers.
By culture / time period
By type of notation
Numeral systems are classified here as to whether they use positional notation (also known as place-value ...
.
In August 1969, the development of China's first heavy-lift
satellite launch vehicle
The Satellite Launch Vehicle or SLV was a small-lift launch vehicle project started in the early 1970s by the Indian Space Research Organisation to develop the technology needed to launch satellites. SLV was intended to reach a height of and c ...
(SLV), the
Feng Bao 1
The Feng Bao 1 (), also known as FB-1, was a Chinese carrier rocket launched between 1972 and 1981. It was replaced by the nearly identical Long March 2, which had been developed at the same time for political reasons related to China's Cultural ...
(FB-1, ), was started by Shanghai's 2nd Bureau of Mechanic-Electrical Industry. The all-liquid two-stage launcher was derived from the DF-5 ICBM. Only a few months later, a parallel heavy-lift SLV program, also based on the same DF-5 ICBM and known as CZ-2, was started in Beijing by the First Space Academy. The DF-4 was used to develop the Long March-1 SLV. A newly designed spin-up orbital insertion solid-propellant rocket motor third stage was added to the two existing
Nitric acid
Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...
/
UDMH
Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH; 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, НДМГ or codenamed Geptil) is a chemical compound with the formula H2NN(CH3)2 that is used as a rocket propellant. It is a colorless liquid, with a sharp, fishy, ammonia-like smell ...
liquid propellant stages. An attempt to use this vehicle to launch a Chinese satellite before Japan's first attempt ended in failure on November 16, 1969.
The second satellite launch attempt on April 24, 1970, was successful. A CZ-1 was used to launch the 173 kg ''
Dong Fang Hong I
''Dong Fang Hong 1'' (), in the western world also known as China 1 or PRC 1, was the first space satellite of the People's Republic of China (PRC), launched successfully on 24 April 1970 as part of the PRC's Dongfanghong space satellite prog ...
'' (, meaning The East Is Red I), also known as ''Mao-1''. It was the heaviest first satellite placed into orbit by a nation, exceeding the combined masses of the first satellites of the other four previous countries. The third stage of the CZ-1 was specially equipped with a 40 m2 solar reflector () deployed by the
centrifugal force
In Newtonian mechanics, the centrifugal force is an inertial force (also called a "fictitious" or "pseudo" force) that appears to act on all objects when viewed in a rotating frame of reference. It is directed away from an axis which is paralle ...
developed by the spin-up orbital insertion solid propellant stage. Therefore, the faint
magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
5 to 8 brightness of the DFH-1 made the satellite (at best) barely visible with naked eyes was consequently dramatically increased to a comfortable magnitude 2 to 3. The PRC's second satellite was launched with the last of the CZ-1 SLVs on March 3, 1971. The 221 kg ShiJian-1 (SJ-1) was equipped with a
magnetometer
A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...
and
cosmic-ray
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...
/
x-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
detectors.
The first crewed space program, known as ''Project 714'', was officially adopted in April 1971 with the goal of sending two astronauts into space by 1973 aboard the
Shuguang spacecraft
Shuguang One (), meaning "dawn" in Mandarin, also known as Project 714 (), was the first crewed spacecraft proposed by the People's Republic of China during the late 1960s and early 1970s that was never built. The design was for a two-person capsul ...
. The first screening process for astronauts had already ended on March 15, 1971, with 19 astronauts chosen. The program would soon be canceled due to political turmoil. The first flight test of the DF-5 ICBM was carried out in October 1971. On August 10, 1972, the new heavy-lift SLV FB-1 made its maiden test flight, with only partial success. The
CZ-2A
The Long March 2A, also known as the Chang Zheng 2A, CZ-2A and LM-2A, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket which launched FSW-0 reconnaissance satellites. It was later replaced by the more capable Long March 4C. It was developed by the China Aca ...
launcher, originally designed to carry the Shuguang-1 spacecraft, was first tested on November 5, 1974, carrying China's first FSW-0 recoverable satellite, but failed. After some redesign work, the modified
CZ-2C
The Long March 2C (LM-2C), also known as the Chang Zheng 2C (CZ-2C), is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Developed and manufactured by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the Long Ma ...
successfully launched the FSW-0 No.1 recoverable satellite () into orbit on November 26, 1975. After expansion, the Northern Missile Test Site was upgraded as a test base in January 1976 to become the Northern Missile Test Base () known as
Base 25
There are many different numeral systems, that is, writing systems for expressing numbers.
By culture / time period
By type of notation
Numeral systems are classified here as to whether they use positional notation (also known as place-value ...
.
1970s to 1990s
After Mao died on September 9, 1976, his rival,
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
, denounced during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
as
reactionary
In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...
and therefore forced to retire from all his offices, slowly re-emerged as China's new leader in 1978. At first, the new development was slowed. Then, several key projects deemed unnecessary were simply cancelled—the Fanji ABM system, the Xianfeng Anti-Missile Super Gun, the ICBM Early Warning Network
7010 Tracking Radar
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...
and the land-based high-power anti-missile laser program. Nevertheless, some development did proceed. The first Yuanwang-class space tracking ship was commissioned in 1979. The first full-range test of the DF-5 ICBM was conducted on May 18, 1980. The payload reached its target located 9300 km away in the South Pacific () and retrieved five minutes later by helicopter. Further development of the
Long March rocket
The Long March rockets are a family of expendable launch system rockets operated by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The rockets are named after the Chinese Red Army's 1934–35 Long March military retreat during the Chi ...
series allowed the PRC to initiate a commercial launch program in 1985, which has since launched more than 50 foreign satellites, primarily for European,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
n interests.
The next crewed space program was even more ambitious and proposed in March 1986, as '' Astronautics plan 863-2''. This consisted of a crewed spacecraft (Project 863-204) used to ferry astronaut crews to a space station (Project 863-205). Several spaceplane designs were rejected two years later and a simpler space capsule was chosen instead. Although the project did not achieve its goals, it would ultimately evolve into the 1992 ''
Project 921
The China Manned Space Program (CMS; ), also known as Project 921 () is a space program developed by the People's Republic of China and run by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), designed to develop and enhance human spaceflight capabilities f ...
''. The
Ministry of Aerospace Industry
The Ministry of Aerospace Industry of the People's Republic of China () was a government ministry responsible for its national space program. This ministry was split into the China National Space Administration and China Aerospace Science and Tech ...
was founded on July 5, 1988. On September 15, 1988, a JL-1 SLBM was launched from a
Type 092 submarine
The Type 092 (Chinese designation: 09- II; NATO reporting name: Xia class) submarine was the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) deployed by the People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force.
Background
The first and only ...
. The maximum range of the SLBM is 2150 km.
Along Deng's policy of capitalist reforms in the Chinese economy, Chinese culture also changed. Therefore, names used in the space program, previously all chosen from the revolutionary history of the PRC, were soon replaced with mystical-religious ones. Thus, new ''Long March'' carrier rockets were renamed ''Divine Arrow'' (), spacecraft ''Divine Vessel'' (), space plane ''Divine Dragon'' (), land-based high-power laser ''Divine Light'' () and supercomputer ''Divine Might'' ().
The Chinese human spaceflight program, namely the China Manned Space Program, was formally approved on September 21, 1992, by the Standing Committee of Politburo as Project 921, with work beginning on 1 January 1993.
Following the
fall of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, the cooperation between Russia and China restarted in the early 1990s. In 1994, China purchased Russian aerospace technology to further develop manned spaceflight capability. In 1995, a deal was signed between the two countries for the transfer of Russian Soyuz spacecraft technology to China. Included in the agreement were schedules for astronaut training, provision of
Soyuz Soyuz is a transliteration of the Cyrillic text Союз ( Russian and Ukrainian, 'Union'). It can refer to any union, such as a trade union (''profsoyuz'') or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Сою́з Сове́тских Социалис ...
capsules, life support systems, docking systems, and space suits. In 1996, two Chinese astronauts,
Wu Jie
Wu Jie (; born October 1963) is a Chinese military pilot and taikonaut selected as part of the Shenzhou program.
Biography
Wu Jie was born in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China. In 1987 he graduated from the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PL ...
and
Li Qinglong
Li Qinglong (; born August 1962) is a Chinese pilot selected as part of the Shenzhou program.
Biography
Li Qinglong was born in Dingyuan, Anhui province, China. In 1987 he graduated from the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Missile Co ...
, began training at the
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC; Russian: Центр подготовки космонавтов имени Ю. А. Гагарина) is a Russian training facility responsible for train ...
in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. After training, these men returned to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and proceeded to train other Chinese astronauts at sites near
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and
Jiuquan
Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou, is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in ...
.
In June 1993, the
China Aerospace Corporation
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or CASC, is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has subsidiaries which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic ...
was founded in Beijing. It was also granted the title of
China National Space Administration
China National Space Administration (CNSA; ) is the government agency of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation, including organizing or leading foreign exchanges ...
(CNSA). On February 15, 1996, during the flight of the first
Long March 3B
The Long March 3B (, ''Chang Zheng 3B''), also known as the CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocke ...
heavy carrier rocket carrying
Intelsat 708
Intelsat 708 was a telecommunications satellite built by the American company Space Systems/Loral for Intelsat. It was destroyed on February 15, 1996 when the Long March 3B launch vehicle failed while being launched from the Xichang Satellite ...
, the rocket veered off course immediately after clearing the launch platform, crashing 22 seconds later. It crashed away from the launch pad into a nearby mountain village.
In March 1998, the administrative branch of China Aerospace Corporation was split and then merged into the newly founded
Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense
The Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND; Chinese character, Chinese: 国防科学技术工业委员会) was a civilian ministry within the State Council of China, State Council of the People's Republic of ...
while retaining the title of CNSA. In the same year, Shenzhou spacecraft, loosely translatable as "divine vessel", completed construction. New launch facilities were built at the Jiuquan launch site in
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
, and in the spring of 1998, a mock-up of the
Long March 2F
The Long March 2F ( ''Changzheng 2F''), also known as the CZ-2F, LM-2F and Shenjian (, "Divine Arrow"), is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long Mar ...
launch vehicle with Shenzhou spacecraft was rolled out for integration and facility tests.
On July 1, 1999, the China Aerospace Corporation was converted into
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or CASC, is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has subsidiaries which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategi ...
(CASC). In November 1999, after the 50th anniversary of the PRC's founding, China launched the
Shenzhou 1
Shenzhou 1 () launched on 19 November 1999, was the first uncrewed launch of the Shenzhou spacecraft. The spacecraft used was not equipped with a life support system or an emergency escape system. After orbiting the Earth 14 times, the comman ...
spacecraft and recovered it after a flight of 21 hours. It was the first uncrewed human spaceflight test conducted by China.
21st century
Since the beginning of 21st century, China has been experiencing rapid economic growth, which led to higher investment into space programs and multiple major achievements in the following decades. The first satellite of BeiDou-1, the experimental regional navigation system of China, was launched on October 31, 2000, as China began to built its own satellite navigation system as an alternative to
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
.
In early 2000s, the Chinese manned space program continued to engage with Russia in technological exchanges regarding the development of a docking mechanism used for space stations. Deputy Chief Designer, Huang Weifen, stated that near the end of 2009,
China Manned Space Agency
China Manned Space Agency or CMSA () is an agency of the People's Republic of China responsible for the administration of China Manned Space Program, the Chinese human spaceflight program.
Name
The native name of the organization (') was in ...
began to train astronauts on how to dock spacecraft.
On October 15, 2003, astronaut
Yang Liwei
Yang Liwei (; born 21 June 1965) is a major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut at the People's Liberation Army.
In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This mission, Shenzh ...
was put into space aboard
Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5 (, see § Etymology) was the first human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, launched on 15 October 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous flights ...
spacecraft by a
Long March 2F
The Long March 2F ( ''Changzheng 2F''), also known as the CZ-2F, LM-2F and Shenjian (, "Divine Arrow"), is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long Mar ...
rocket for more than 21 hours. China became the third country capable of conducting independent
human spaceflight
Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...
.
Around the same time, China began the preparation of extraterrestrial exploration, starting with the Moon. The Chinese Moon orbiting program was approved in January 2004 and was later transformed into
Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP; ), also known as the Chang'e Project () after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program incorpor ...
. The first lunar orbiter
Chang'e 1
Chang'e 1 (; ) was an unmanned Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecraft, part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The spacecraft was named after the Chinese Moon goddess, Chang'e.
Chang'e 1 was launched on 24 October 2007 at 1 ...
was successfully launched on October 24, 2007, and was inserted into Moon orbit on November 7, making China the fifth nation to successfully orbit the Moon.
In March 2008, CNSA, along with the Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, was merged into the newly formed
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the Chinese government, established in March 2008, is the state agency of the People's Republic of China responsible for regulation and development of the postal service, Internet, wireless ...
.
On September 27, 2008, two crew members of the
Shenzhou 7
Shenzhou 7 () was the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program. The mission, which included the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crew members Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, marked the commencement o ...
carried out China's first
EVA
Eva or EVA may refer to:
* Eva (name), a feminine given name
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment
* Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...
. Three years later, on September 29, 2011, China launched
Tiangong-1
Tiangong-1 () was China's first prototype space station. It orbited Earth from September 2011 to April 2018, serving as both a crewed laboratory and an experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities during its ...
, the first prototype of Chinese space station module. The following
Shenzhou 8
Shenzhou 8 () was an uncrewed flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched on 31 October 2011 UTC, or 1 November 2011 in China, by a Long March 2F rocket which lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
The Shenzhou 8 spacecraft was ...
,
Shenzhou 9
Shenzhou 9 () was the fourth crewed spacecraft flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched at 18:37:24 CST (10:37:24 UTC), 16 June 2012. Shenzhou 9 was the second spacecraft and first crewed mission and expedition to dock with the Tiangong-1 ...
and
Shenzhou 10
Shenzhou 10 () was a crewed spaceflight of China's Shenzhou program that was launched on 11 June 2013. It was China's fifth crewed space mission. The mission had a crew of three astronauts: Nie Haisheng, who was mission commander and previous ...
missions proved that China had developed critical human spaceflight capabilities like space docking and berthing.
China began its first interplanetary exploration attempt in 2011 by sending
Yinghuo-1
Yinghuo-1 () was a Chinese Mars-exploration space probe, intended to be the first Chinese planetary space probe and the first Chinese spacecraft to orbit Mars. It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on 8 November 2011, along with ...
, a Mars orbiter, in a joint mission with Russia. Yet it failed to leave Earth orbit due to the failure of Russian launch vehicle. China then turned its focus back to the Moon by attempting the challenging lunar
soft landing Soft landing may refer to:
*Soft landing (aeronautics)
A soft landing is any type of aircraft, rocket or spacecraft landing that does not result in significant damage to or destruction of the vehicle or its payload, as opposed to a hard la ...
. On December 14, 2013, China successfully landed
Chang'e 3
Chang'e 3 (; ) is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of t ...
Moon lander and its rover Yutu on the Moon surface. It made China the third country in the world capable of performing lunar soft landing, just after
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and the United States.
In 2016,
Tiangong-2
Tiangong-2 () was a Chinese space laboratory and part of the Project 921-2 space station program. Tiangong-2 was launched on 15 September 2016. It was deorbited as planned on 19 July 2019.
Tiangong-2 was neither designed nor planned to be a ...
and
Shenzhou 11
Shenzhou 11 was a crewed spaceflight of the Shenzhou program of China, launched on 17 October 2016 (16 October UTC) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It was China's sixth crewed space mission, at 33 days, it was the longest until the ...
were launched into Low Earth orbit. A 33-day crewed spaceflight mission proved that China was ready for a long-term space station built and maintained by its own.
In 2018, China performed more orbital launches than any other country on the planet for the first time in history.
On January 3, 2019,
Chang'e 4
Chang'e 4 (; ) is a robotic spacecraft mission, part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. China achieved humanity's first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, on 3 January 2019.
A communication relay satellit ...
conducted the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon by any country, followed by 2020's
Chang'e 5
Chang'e 5 () was the fifth lunar exploration mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, and China's first lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. It launched ...
, a complex and successful lunar sample return mission, marking the completion of the three goals (orbiting, landing, returning) of the first stage of the lunar exploration program.
On June 23, 2020, the final satellite of
Beidou
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS; ) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations. The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and ...
was successfully launched by a
Long March 3B
The Long March 3B (, ''Chang Zheng 3B''), also known as the CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocke ...
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
formally announced the commissioning of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
On April 29, 2021, Tianhe, the 22-tonne core module of Tiangong space station, was successfully launched into Low Earth orbit by a
Long March 5B
Long March 5 (LM-5; zh, s=长征五号 , p=Chángzhēng wǔ hào), or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), and also by its nickname "''Pang-Wu''" (胖五, "''Fat-Five''"), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle ...
rocket, indicating the beginning of the construction of the Chinese Space Station.
Ever since the failure of Yinghuo-1, the Chinese space agency had embarked on its independent Mars mission. On July 23, 2020, China launched
Tianwen-1
-1 (TW-1; zh, t=, s=, l='Heavenly Questions') is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lander, rem ...
, which included an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, on a
Long March 5
Long March 5 (LM-5; zh, s=长征五号 , p=Chángzhēng wǔ hào), or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), and also by its nickname "''Pang-Wu''" (胖五, "''Fat-Five''"), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehic ...
rocket to Mars. The Tianwen-1 was inserted into Mars orbit in February 2021 after a six-month journey, followed by a successful soft landing of the lander and Zhurong rover on May 14, 2021, making China the third nation to both land softly on and establish communication from the Martian surface, after the Soviet Union and the United States.
On April 24, 2022, a rocket was launched on high altitude zero-pressure helium balloon from
Lenghu
Lenghu () is a town in Mangnai, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is located in the northwest of Qinghai province, China, bordering Gansu to the north/northeast and Xinjiang to the northwest.
History
In 2018, the Mangnai and Len ...
in the northwest China's
Qinghai Province
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest pop ...
, which saves fuel and reduces overall costs.
Chinese space program and the international community
Dual-use technologies and outer space
The PRC is a member of the
United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is a United Nations committee whose main task is to review and foster international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, as well as to consider legal issues ar ...
and a signatory to all
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
treaties and conventions on space, with the exception of the 1979 Moon Treaty. The United States government has long been resistant to the use of PRC launch services by American industry due to concerns over alleged civilian technology transfer that could have dual-use military applications to countries such as
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
or
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. Thus, financial retaliatory measures have been taken on many occasions against several Chinese space companies.
NASA's policy excluding Chinese state affiliates
Due to security concerns, all researchers from the U.S.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
(NASA) are prohibited from working with Chinese citizens affiliated with a Chinese state enterprise or entity. In April 2011, the
112th United States Congress
The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...
banned NASA from using its funds to host Chinese visitors at NASA facilities. In March 2013, the U.S. Congress passed legislation barring Chinese nationals from entering NASA facilities without a waiver from NASA.
The history of the U.S. exclusion policy can be traced back to allegations by a 1998 U.S. Congressional Commission that the technical information that American companies provided China for its commercial satellite ended up improving Chinese intercontinental ballistic missile technology. This was further aggravated in 2007 when China blew up a defunct meteorological satellite in
low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...
space junk
Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, or space garbage) are defunct human-made objects in space—principally in Earth orbit—which no longer serve a useful function. These include derelict spacecr ...
that litter Earth's orbit, exposing other nations' space assets to the risk of accidental collision. The United States also fears the Chinese application of dual-use space technology for nefarious purposes. The U.S. imposed an embargo to the U.S. - China space cooperation throughout the 2000s and by 2011, a clause inserted by then-Congressman Frank Wolf in the 2011 U.S. federal budget forbids NASA from hosting or participating in a joint scientific activity with China.
The Chinese response to the exclusion policy involved its own space policy of opening up its space station to the outside world, welcoming scientists coming from all countries. American scientists have also boycotted NASA conferences due to its rejection of Chinese nationals in these events.
Organization
Initially, the space program of the PRC was organized under the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
PLA Rocket Force
The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF; ), formerly the Second Artillery Corps (), is the strategic and tactical missile force of the People's Republic of China. The PLARF is the 4th branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and ...
, PLARF). In the 1990s, the PRC reorganized the space program as part of a general reorganization of the defense industry to make it resemble Western defense procurement.
The
China National Space Administration
China National Space Administration (CNSA; ) is the government agency of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation, including organizing or leading foreign exchanges ...
, an agency within the
Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense
The Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND; Chinese: 国防科学技术工业委员会) was a civilian ministry within the State Council of the People's Republic of China, responsible for setting policy for ...
currently headed by
Zhang Kejian
Zhang Kejian (; born July 1961) is a Chinese politician and engineer currently serving as the Director of the China National Space Administration.
Zhang was born in Kunshan, Jiangsu province. He joined the Communist Party in June 1992, ten years ...
, is now responsible for launches. The
Long March rocket
The Long March rockets are a family of expendable launch system rockets operated by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The rockets are named after the Chinese Red Army's 1934–35 Long March military retreat during the Chi ...
is produced by the
China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) is a major state-owned civilian and military space launch vehicle manufacturer in China and one of the major launch service providers in the world. CALT is a subsidiary of the larger China Ae ...
, and satellites are produced by the
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, or CASC, is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has subsidiaries which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategi ...
. The latter organizations are
state-owned enterprise
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...
s; however, it is the intent of the PRC government that they should not be actively state-managed and that they should behave as independent design bureaus.
Universities and institutes
The space program also has close links with:
* College of Aerospace Science and Engineering,
National University of Defense Technology
The National University of Defense Technology (NUDT; ) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Changsha, Hunan, China. Founded in 1953 as the People's Liberation Army Military Academy of Engineering, ...
* School of Astronautics,
Beihang University
Beihang University, previously known as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (), abbreviated as BUAA or Beihang ( zh, c=北航, p=), is a national public research university located in Beijing, China, specializing in engineering, t ...
* School of Aerospace,
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...
* School of Astronautics,
Northwestern Polytechnical University
Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU; ) is a national key public research university in Xi'an, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The university is a Chinese national Class A Double ...
* School of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the na ...
* Institute of Aerospace Science and Technology,
Shanghai Jiaotong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU; ) is a public research university in Shanghai, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of China.
The university was established on April 8, 1896 as Nanyang Public School (南洋 ...
* College of Aeronautics,
Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin Institute of Technology (; abbreviation: HIT or ) is a public research university and a member of China's elite C9 League and a member of the University Alliance of the Silk Road. HIT is a Chinese Ministry of Education Class A Doubl ...
* School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering,
Beihang University
Beihang University, previously known as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (), abbreviated as BUAA or Beihang ( zh, c=北航, p=), is a national public research university located in Beijing, China, specializing in engineering, t ...
Yantai Space City
Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...
()
*
Guizhou Aerospace Industrial Park
Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...
(), also known as ''Base 061'' (), founded in 2002 after approval of ''Project 863'' for industrialization of aerospace research centers ().
Suborbital launch sites
* Nanhui () First successful launch of a T-7M sounding rocket on February 19, 1960.
*
Base 603
Guangde Rocket Launch Site () also known as Base 603 (603基地) is a suborbital launch site that was operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences located in Shijiedu (), Shijie Town (), Guangde County, Xuancheng Prefecture, Anhui province on t ...
() Also known as ''Guangde Launch Site'' (). The first successful flight of a biological experimental sounding rocket transporting eight white mice was launched and recovered on July 19, 1964.
Satellite launch centers
The PRC operates 4 satellite launch centers/sites:
*
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (); Base 20; 63600 Unit) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility (spac ...
(JSLC)
*
Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) also known as ''Base 25'' (), is a People's Republic of China space and defense launch facility (spaceport). It is situated in Kelan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi Province and is the second of four launch ...
(TSLC)
*
Xichang Satellite Launch Center
The Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC), also known as the Xichang Space Center, is a spaceport of China. It is located in Zeyuan Town (), approximately northwest of Xichang, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan.
The facility bec ...
(XSLC)
**
Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site
The Wenchang Space Launch Site ( zh, 文昌航天发射场, links=no), located in Wenchang, Hainan, China, is a rocket launch site — one of the two spacecraft launch sites of Xichang Satellite Launch Center (the other site is in Xichang, ...
(administered by Xichang SLC)
Monitoring and control centers
*
Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center
Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center (), formerly known as Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center (; BACCC or BACC), is a command center for the Chinese space program which includes the Shenzhou missions, and is located in a suburb nor ...
Tianlian I
Tianlian (Simplified Chinese: 天链, Traditional Chinese: 天鏈, English: ''Sky Link'') also known as CTDRS, is a Chinese Data relay satellite, data relay communication satellite constellation. The constellation serves to relay data from groun ...
(), specially developed to decrease the communication time between the
Shenzhou 7
Shenzhou 7 () was the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program. The mission, which included the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crew members Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, marked the commencement o ...
spaceship and the ground; it will also improve the amount of data that can be transferred. The current orbit coverage of 12 percent will thus be increased to a total of about 60 percent.
*Deep Space Tracking Network composed with radio antennas in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
,
Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
and
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
, forming a 3000 km VLBI ().
Domestic tracking stations
*New integrated land-based space monitoring and control network stations, forming a large triangle with
Kashi
Kashi or Kaashi may refer to:
Places
* Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India
**Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas
**Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi
* Kashgar, a cit ...
in the north-west of China,
Jiamusi
Jiamusi (Manchu: ; formerly Kiamusze) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. Located along the middle and lower reaches of the Songhua River, it faces Russia's Khabarovsk Krai across the Ussuri R ...
in the north-east and
Sanya
Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China.
According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...
in the south.
*Weinan Station
*Changchun Station
*Qingdao Station
*Zhanyi Station
*Nanhai Station
*Tianshan Station
*Xiamen Station
*Lushan Station
*Jiamusi Station
*Dongfeng Station
*Hetian Station
Overseas tracking stations
*
Tarawa
Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati ''
)
*
Malindi
Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi was 119,859 as of the 2019 census. It is the largest urban centre ...
Neuquén Province
Neuquén () is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also meets La Pampa Province a ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Plus shared space tracking facilities with France, Brazil, Sweden, and Australia.
Crewed landing sites
*
Siziwang Banner
Dorbod (Siziwang) Banner ( mn, , , ; ) is a banner (county equivalent) in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, China, bordering Mongolia's Dornogovi Province to the northwest. It is located about north of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia.
The ban ...
Notable spaceflight programs
Project 714
As the
Space Race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...
between the two superpowers reached its climax with humans landing on the Moon,
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
and
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
decided on July 14, 1967, that the PRC should not be left behind, and therefore initiated China's own crewed space program. The top-secret Project 714 aimed to put two people into space by 1973 with the
Shuguang spacecraft
Shuguang One (), meaning "dawn" in Mandarin, also known as Project 714 (), was the first crewed spacecraft proposed by the People's Republic of China during the late 1960s and early 1970s that was never built. The design was for a two-person capsul ...
. Nineteen
PLAAF
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the P ...
pilots were selected for this goal in March 1971. The Shuguang-1 spacecraft to be launched with the
CZ-2A
The Long March 2A, also known as the Chang Zheng 2A, CZ-2A and LM-2A, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket which launched FSW-0 reconnaissance satellites. It was later replaced by the more capable Long March 4C. It was developed by the China Aca ...
rocket was designed to carry a crew of two. The program was officially cancelled on May 13, 1972, for economic reasons, though the internal politics of the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
likely motivated the closure.
The short-lived second crewed program was based on the successful implementation of landing technology (third in the World after
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and United States) by FSW satellites. It was announced a few times in 1978 with the open publishing of some details including photos, but then was abruptly canceled in 1980. It has been argued that the second crewed program was created solely for propaganda purposes, and was never intended to produce results.
Project 863
A new crewed space program was proposed by the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...
in March 1986, as ''Astronautics plan 863-2''. This consisted of a crewed spacecraft (Project 863-204) used to ferry astronaut crews to a space station (Project 863-205). In September of that year, astronauts in training were presented by the Chinese media. The various proposed crewed spacecraft were mostly spaceplanes. Project 863 ultimately evolved into the 1992 ''Project 921''.
China Manned Space Program (Project 921)
Spacecraft
In 1992, authorization and funding was given for the first phase of Project 921, which was a plan to launch a crewed spacecraft. The Shenzhou program had four uncrewed test flights and two crewed missions. The first one was
Shenzhou 1
Shenzhou 1 () launched on 19 November 1999, was the first uncrewed launch of the Shenzhou spacecraft. The spacecraft used was not equipped with a life support system or an emergency escape system. After orbiting the Earth 14 times, the comman ...
on November 20, 1999. On January 9, 2001
Shenzhou 2
Shenzhou 2 () launched on January 9, 2001, was the second unmanned launch of the Shenzhou spacecraft. Inside the reentry capsule were a monkey, a dog and a rabbit in a test of the spaceship's life support systems. The reentry module separated ...
launched carrying test animals.
Shenzhou 3
Shenzhou 3 () launched on March 25, 2002, was the third unmanned launch of China's Shenzhou spacecraft. This was the first Shenzhou spacecraft launched that could have actually carried a human and as such the main objective of the mission was t ...
and
Shenzhou 4
Shenzhou 4 () – launched on December 29, 2002 – was the fourth uncrewed launch of the Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft. Two dummy astronauts were used to test the life support systems (a live astronaut was not used until Shenzhou 5 on ...
were launched in 2002, carrying test dummies. Following these was the successful
Shenzhou 5
Shenzhou 5 (, see § Etymology) was the first human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, launched on 15 October 2003. The Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous flights ...
, China's first crewed mission in space on October 15, 2003, which carried
Yang Liwei
Yang Liwei (; born 21 June 1965) is a major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut at the People's Liberation Army.
In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This mission, Shenzh ...
in orbit for 21 hours and made China the third nation to launch a human into orbit.
Shenzhou 6
Shenzhou 6 () was the second human spaceflight of the Chinese space program, launched on October 12, 2005 on a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Shenzhou spacecraft carried a crew of Fèi Jùnlóng (费俊龙) ...
followed two years later ending the first phase of Project 921. Missions are launched on the
Long March 2F
The Long March 2F ( ''Changzheng 2F''), also known as the CZ-2F, LM-2F and Shenjian (, "Divine Arrow"), is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long Mar ...
rocket from the
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC; also known as Shuangchengzi Missile Test Center; Launch Complex B2; formally Northwest Comprehensive Missile Testing Facility (); Base 20; 63600 Unit) is a Chinese space vehicle launch facility (spac ...
. The
China Manned Space Agency
China Manned Space Agency or CMSA () is an agency of the People's Republic of China responsible for the administration of China Manned Space Program, the Chinese human spaceflight program.
Name
The native name of the organization (') was in ...
(CMSA) provides engineering and administrative support for the crewed Shenzhou missions.
Space laboratory
The second phase of the Project 921 started with
Shenzhou 7
Shenzhou 7 () was the third human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program. The mission, which included the first Chinese extra-vehicular activity (EVA) carried out by crew members Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, marked the commencement o ...
, China's first spacewalk mission. Then, two crewed missions were planned to the first Chinese space laboratory. The PRC initially designed the
Shenzhou spacecraft
Shenzhou (, ; see ) is a spacecraft developed and operated by China to support its crewed spaceflight program, China Manned Space Program. Its design resembles the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but it is larger in size. The first launch was on 19 ...
with docking technologies imported from Russia, therefore compatible with the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
(ISS). On September 29, 2011, China launched
Tiangong 1
Tiangong-1 () was China's first prototype space station. It orbited Earth from September 2011 to April 2018, serving as both a crewed laboratory and an experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities during it ...
. This target module is intended to be the first step to testing the technology required for a planned space station.
On October 31, 2011, a Long March 2F rocket lifted the
Shenzhou 8
Shenzhou 8 () was an uncrewed flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched on 31 October 2011 UTC, or 1 November 2011 in China, by a Long March 2F rocket which lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
The Shenzhou 8 spacecraft was ...
uncrewed spacecraft which docked twice with the Tiangong 1 module. The
Shenzhou 9
Shenzhou 9 () was the fourth crewed spacecraft flight of China's Shenzhou program, launched at 18:37:24 CST (10:37:24 UTC), 16 June 2012. Shenzhou 9 was the second spacecraft and first crewed mission and expedition to dock with the Tiangong-1 ...
craft took off on 16 June 2012 with a crew of 3. It successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 laboratory on 18 June 2012, at 06:07 UTC, marking China's first crewed spacecraft docking. Another crewed mission,
Shenzhou 10
Shenzhou 10 () was a crewed spaceflight of China's Shenzhou program that was launched on 11 June 2013. It was China's fifth crewed space mission. The mission had a crew of three astronauts: Nie Haisheng, who was mission commander and previous ...
, launched on 11 June 2013. The Tiangong 1 target module is then expected to be deorbited.
A second space lab,
Tiangong 2
Tiangong-2 () was a Chinese space laboratory and part of the Project 921-2 space station program. Tiangong-2 was launched on 15 September 2016. It was deorbited as planned on 19 July 2019.
Tiangong-2 was neither designed nor planned to be a ...
, launched on 15 September 2016, 22:04:09 (UTC+8). The launch mass was 8,600 kg, with a length of 10.4m and a width of 3.35m, much like the Tiangong 1.
Shenzhou 11
Shenzhou 11 was a crewed spaceflight of the Shenzhou program of China, launched on 17 October 2016 (16 October UTC) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It was China's sixth crewed space mission, at 33 days, it was the longest until the ...
launched and rendezvoused with Tiangong 2 in October 2016, with an unconfirmed further mission Shenzhou 12 in the future. The Tiangong 2 brings with it the POLAR gamma ray burst detector, a space-Earth quantum key distribution, and laser communications experiment to be used in conjunction with the Mozi 'Quantum Science Satellite', a liquid bridge thermocapillary convection experiment, and a space material experiment. Also included is a stereoscopic microwave altimeter, a space plant growth experiment, and a multi-angle wide-spectral imager and multi-spectral limb imaging spectrometer. Onboard TG-2 there will also be the world's first-ever in-space cold atomic fountain clock.
Space station
A larger basic permanent space station (基本型空间站) would be the third and last phase of Project 921. This will be a modular design with an eventual weight of around 60 tons, to be completed sometime before 2022. The first section, designated Tiangong 3, was scheduled for launch after Tiangong 2, but ultimately not ordered after its goals were merged with Tiangong 2.
This could also be the beginning of China's crewed international cooperation, the existence of which was officially disclosed for the first time after the launch of Shenzhou 7.
The first module of Tiangong space station, ''Tianhe'' core module, was launched on 29 April 2021, from
Wenchang Space Launch Site
The Wenchang Space Launch Site ( zh, 文昌航天发射场, links=no), located in Wenchang, Hainan, China, is a rocket launch site — one of the two spacecraft launch sites of Xichang Satellite Launch Center (the other site is in Xichang, ...
. It was first visited by
Shenzhou 12
Shenzhou 12 (, see § Etymology) was a Chinese spaceflight launched on 17 June 2021. The flight marked the seventh crewed Chinese spaceflight and the twelfth flight of the Shenzhou program. The spacecraft carried three members of the People's ...
crew on 17 June 2021. The Chinese space station is scheduled to be completed in 2022 and fully operational by 2023.
Lunar exploration
In January 2004, the PRC formally started the implementation phase of its uncrewed
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
exploration project. According to
Sun Laiyan
Sun Laiyan (; born October 1957) is a Chinese scientist who served as the Administrator of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) from 2004 to 2010, when he was succeeded by Chen Qiufa.
Early life
Sun was born in Beijing in October 19 ...
, administrator of the
China National Space Administration
China National Space Administration (CNSA; ) is the government agency of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation, including organizing or leading foreign exchanges ...
, the project will involve three phases: orbiting the Moon; landing; and returning samples. The first phase planned to spend 1.4 billion
renminbi
The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022. ...
(approx. US$170 million) to orbit a satellite around the Moon before 2007, which is ongoing. Phase two involves sending a lander before 2010. Phase three involves collecting lunar soil samples before 2020.
On November 27, 2005, the deputy commander of the crewed spaceflight program announced that the PRC planned to complete a space station and a crewed mission to the Moon by 2020, assuming funding was approved by the government.
On December 14, 2005, it was reported "an effort to launch lunar orbiting satellites will be supplanted in 2007 by a program aimed at accomplishing an uncrewed lunar landing. A program to return uncrewed space vehicles from the Moon will begin in 2012 and last for five years, until the crewed program gets underway" in 2017, with a crewed Moon landing planned after that.
Nonetheless, the decision to develop a totally new Moon rocket in the 1962 Soviet UR-700M-class ( Project Aelita) able to launch a 500-ton payload in LTO and a more modest 50 tons LTO payload LV has been discussed in a 2006 conference by academician Zhang Guitian (), a liquid propellant rocket engine specialist, who developed the CZ-2 and
CZ-4A
The Long March 4A (), also known as the Changzheng 4A, CZ-4A and LM-4A, sometimes misidentified as the Long March 4 due to the lack of any such designated rocket, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It was launched from Launch Area 7 at the Taiy ...
rockets engines.
On June 22, 2006,
Long Lehao
Long Lehao (born 4 July 1938) is a Chinese aerospace engineer and scientist who was the chief designer of Long March expendable launch system rockets and deputy chief designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.
Biography
Long was born int ...
, deputy chief architect of the lunar probe project, laid out a schedule for China's lunar exploration. He set 2024 as the date of China's first moonwalk.
In September 2010, it was announced that the country is planning to carry out explorations in deep space by sending a man to the Moon by 2025. China also hoped to bring a Moon rock sample back to Earth in 2017, and subsequently build an observatory on the Moon's surface.
Ye Peijian
Ye Peijian (; born January 1945) is a Chinese aerospace engineer. He is the Chief Commander and Chief Designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.
Career
Ye was born in Huzhuang Village, Taixing, Jiangsu, China, in January 1945. In 1962, ...
, Commander in Chief of the Chang'e program and an academic at the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...
, added that China has the "full capacity to accomplish Mars exploration by 2013."
On December 14, 2013 China's
Chang'e 3
Chang'e 3 (; ) is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of t ...
became the first object to soft-land on the Moon since
Luna 24
''Luna 24'' was a robotic probe of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. The last of the Luna series of spacecraft, the mission of the ''Luna 24'' probe was the third Soviet mission to return lunar soil samples from the Moon (the first two sampl ...
in 1976.
On 20 May 2018, several months before the Chang'e 4 mission, the Queqiao was launched from
Xichang Satellite Launch Center
The Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC), also known as the Xichang Space Center, is a spaceport of China. It is located in Zeyuan Town (), approximately northwest of Xichang, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan.
The facility bec ...
in China, on a
Long March 4C
The Long March 4C, also known as the Chang Zheng 4C, CZ-4C and LM-4C, previously designated Long March 4B-II, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. It is launched from the Jiuquan, Taiyuan, and Xichang Satellite Launch Centers, and consists of 3 ...
rocket. The spacecraft took 24 days to reach L2, using a
gravity assist
In orbital mechanics and aerospace engineering, a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist maneuver, or swing-by is the use of the relative movement (e.g. orbit around the Sun) and gravity of a planet or other astronomical object to alter the p ...
at the Moon to save propellant. On 14 June 2018, Queqiao finished its final adjustment burn and entered the mission orbit, about from the Moon. This is the first lunar relay satellite ever placed in this location.
On January 3, 2019, Chang'e 4, the China National Space Administration's lunar rover, made the first-ever soft landing on the Moon's far side. The rover was able to transmit data back to Earth despite the lack of radio frequencies on the far side, via a dedicated satellite sent earlier to orbit the Moon. Landing and data transmission are considered landmark achievements for human space exploration.
As indicated by the official ''Chinese Lunar Exploration Program'' insignia, denoted by a calligraphic Moon ideogram () in the shape of a nascent lunar crescent, with two human footsteps at its center, the ultimate objective of the program is to establish a permanent human presence on the Earth's natural satellite.
Yang Liwei
Yang Liwei (; born 21 June 1965) is a major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut at the People's Liberation Army.
In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This mission, Shenzh ...
declared at the 16th Human in Space Symposium of International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) in Beijing, on May 22, 2007, that building a lunar base was a crucial step to realize a flight to Mars and farther planets.
According to practice, since the whole project is only at a very early preparatory research phase, no official crewed Moon program has been announced yet by the authorities. But its existence is nonetheless revealed by regular intentional leaks in the media. A typical example is the
Lunar Roving Vehicle
The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program ( 15, 16, and 17) during 1971 and 1972. It is popularly called the Moon buggy, a play on the t ...
() that was shown on a Chinese TV channel () during the 2008
May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...
celebrations.
On 23 November 2020, China launched the new Moon mission
Chang'e 5
Chang'e 5 () was the fifth lunar exploration mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, and China's first lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. It launched ...
, which returned to Earth carrying lunar samples on 16 December 2020. Only two nations, the United States and the former Soviet Union have ever returned materials from the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, thus making China the third country to have ever achieved the feat.
Mission to Mars and beyond
In 2006, the Chief Designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft stated in an interview that:
Sun Laiyan
Sun Laiyan (; born October 1957) is a Chinese scientist who served as the Administrator of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) from 2004 to 2010, when he was succeeded by Chen Qiufa.
Early life
Sun was born in Beijing in October 19 ...
, administrator of the
China National Space Administration
China National Space Administration (CNSA; ) is the government agency of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation, including organizing or leading foreign exchanges ...
, said on July 20, 2006, that China would start deep space exploration focusing on
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
over the next five years, during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2006–2010) Program period. In April 2020, the
Planetary Exploration of China
The Planetary Exploration of China (PEC; ), also known as Tianwen (), is the robotic interplanetary spaceflight program conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program aims to explore planets of the Solar System, starting ...
program was announced. The program aims to explore planets of the Solar System, starting with Mars, then expanded to include asteroids and comets,
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
and more in the future.
The first mission of the program,
Tianwen-1
-1 (TW-1; zh, t=, s=, l='Heavenly Questions') is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lander, rem ...
Mars exploration mission, began on July 23, 2020. A spacecraft, which consisted of an orbiter, a lander, a
rover
Rover may refer to:
People
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Places
* Rover, Arkansas, US
* Rover, Missouri, US
...
, a remote and a deployable camera, was launched by a
Long March 5
Long March 5 (LM-5; zh, s=长征五号 , p=Chángzhēng wǔ hào), or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), and also by its nickname "''Pang-Wu''" (胖五, "''Fat-Five''"), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehic ...
rocket from
Wenchang
Wenchang ( postal: Mencheong; ) is a county-level city in the northeast of Hainan province, China. Although called a "city", Wenchang refers to a large land area in Hainan - an area which was once a county. The urban center and the seat of govern ...
. The Tianwen-1 was inserted into Mars orbit in February 2021 after a seven-month journey, followed by a successful soft landing of the lander and Zhurong rover on May 14, 2021.
Space-based solar power
According to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) presentation at the 2015 International Space Development Congress in Toronto, Canada, Chinese interest in space-based solar power began in the period 1990–1995. By 2011, there was a proposal for a national program, with advocates such as Pioneer Professor Wang Xiji stating in an article for the Ministry of Science and technology that "China had built up a solid industrial foundation, acquired sufficient technology and had enough money to carry out the most ambitious space project in history. Once completed, the solar station, with a capacity of 100MW, would span at least one square kilometre, dwarfing the International Space Station and becoming the biggest man-made object in space" and "warned that if it did not act quickly, China would let other countries, in particular the US and Japan, take the lead and occupy strategically important locations in space." Global Security cites a 2011-01 Journal of Rocket propulsion that articulates the need for 620+ launches of their
Long March 9
Long March 9 (, LM-9 or Changzheng 9, CZ-9) is a Chinese super-heavy carrier rocket concept that is currently under development. It is the ninth iteration of the Long March rocket family, named for the Chinese Red Army's 1934–35 Long March cam ...
(CZ-9) heavy-lift system for the construction of an orbital solar power plant with 10,000 MW capacity massing 50,000 tonnes.
By 2013, there was a national goal, that "the state has decided that power coming from outside of the earth, such as solar power and development of other space energy resources, is to be China's future direction" and the following roadmap was identified: "In 2010, CAST will finish the concept design; in 2020, we will finish the industrial level testing of in-orbit construction and wireless transmissions. In 2025, we will complete the first 100kW SPS demonstration at LEO; and in 2035, the 100MW SPS will have an electric generating capacity. Finally in 2050, the first commercial level SPS system will be in operation at GEO." The article went on to state that "Since SPS development will be a huge project, it will be considered the equivalent of an Apollo program for energy. In the last century, America's leading position in science and technology worldwide was inextricably linked with technological advances associated with the implementation of the Apollo program. Likewise, as China's current achievements in aerospace technology are built upon with its successive generations of satellite projects in space, China will use its capabilities in space science to assure sustainable development of energy from space."
In 2015, the CAST team won the
International SunSat Design Competition
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
with their video of a Multi-Rotary Joint concept. The design was presented in detail in a paper for the Online Journal of Space Communication.
In 2016, Lt Gen. Zhang Yulin, deputy chief of the PLA armament development department of the Central Military Commission, suggested that China would next begin to exploit Earth-Moon space for industrial development. The goal would be the construction of space-based solar power satellites that would beam energy back to Earth.
In June 2021, Chinese officials confirmed the continuation of plans for a geostationary solar power station by 2050. The updated schedule anticipates a small-scale electricity generation test in 2022, followed by a megawatt-level orbital power station by 2030. The gigawatt-level geostationary station will require over 10,000 tonnes of infrastructure, delivered using over 100 Long March 9 launches.
Goals
The China National Space Administration stated that their long-term goals are:
* Improve their standing in the world of space science
* Establish a crewed space station
* Crewed missions to the Moon
* Establish a crewed lunar base
* Robotic mission to Mars
* Exploit Earth-Moon space for industrial development.
Kaituozhe-1
The Kaituozhe ( zh, s=开拓者, p=kāi tuò zhě, l=''pioneer'') or ''KT'' rocket family is a series of launch vehicles built by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
Kaituozhe-1
Kaituozhe-1 (KT-1) was small, solid f ...
() Solid fueled orbital launch vehicle based on the DF-21 missile with an extra upper stage, which is 4 stages in total.
* Kaituozhe-1A ()
* Kaituozhe-1B () with addition of two solid boosters
* Kaituozhe-2 () A solid fueled orbital launch vehicle with a stage 1 based on the DF-31 missile, accompanied by the small stages 2 and 3.
* Kaituozhe-2A () with addition of two DF-21 based boosters.
* CZ-2E(A) Intended for launch of Chinese space station modules. Payload capacity up to 14 tons in LEO and 9000 (kN) liftoff thrust developed by 12 rocket engines, with enlarged fairing of 5.20 m in diameter and length of 12.39 m to accommodate large spacecraft
* CZ-2F/G Modified
CZ-2F
The Long March 2F ( ''Changzheng 2F''), also known as the CZ-2F, LM-2F and Shenjian (, "Divine Arrow"), is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March ...
without escape tower, specially used for launching robotic missions such as Shenzhou cargo and space laboratory module with payload capacity up to 11.2 tons in LEO
* CZ-3B(A) More powerful Long March rockets using larger-size liquid propellant strap-on motors, with payload capacity up to 13 tons in LEO
*
CZ-3C
The Long March 3C (), also known as the Changzheng 3C, CZ-3C and LM-3C, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. It is launched from Launch Complex 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC). A three-stage rocket with two strapon liquid ...
Launch vehicle combining
CZ-3B
The Long March 3B (, ''Chang Zheng 3B''), also known as the CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocke ...
core with two boosters from
CZ-2E
The Long March 2E, also known as the Chang Zheng 2E, CZ-2E and LM-2E, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket from the Long March 2 family. The Long March 2E was a three-stage carrier rocket that was designed to launch commercial communications sat ...
* CZ-5 Second generation ELV with more efficient and nontoxic propellants (25 tonnes in LEO)
* CZ-6 or Small Launch Vehicle, with short launch preparation period, low cost and high reliability, to meet the launch need of small satellites up to 500 kg to 700 km SSO, first flight for 2010; with Fan Ruixiang () as Chief designer of the project
* CZ-7 used for Phase 4 of Lunar Exploration Program (), that is permanent base () expected for 2024; Second generation Heavy ELV for lunar and deep space trajectory injection (70 tonnes in LEO), capable of supporting a Soviet L1/L3-like lunar landing mission
* CZ-9 super heavy-lift launch vehicle.
*
CZ-11
The Long March 11 (), or Chang Zheng 11 as in pinyin, abbreviated LM-11 for export or CZ-11 within China (and designated 11H when launched from sea), is a Chinese four stage solid-propellant carrier rocket of the Long March family, which is de ...
small, quick-response launch vehicle.
* Project 921-3 Reusable launch vehicle current project of the reusable shuttle system.
* Tengyun another current project of two wing-staged reusable shuttle system.
Cancelled/Retired
* CZ-1D based on a CZ-1 but with a new N2O4/UDMH second stage.
* Project 869 reusable shuttle system with Tianjiao-1 or Chang Cheng-1 (Great Wall-1) orbiters. Project of 1980s-1990s.
Satellites and science mission
*
Space-Based ASAT System
Anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) are space weapons designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic or tactical
purposes. Several nations possess operational ASAT systems. Although no ASAT system has been utilised in warfare, a few ...
small and nano-satellites developed by the
Small Satellite Research Institute
Small may refer to:
Science and technology
* SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language
* Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back
* ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication
* <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text
...
of the
Chinese Academy of Space Technology
The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) () is a Chinese space agency and subordinate of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The agency was founded on 20 February 1968, and is the main spacecraft development and prod ...
.
* The Double Star Mission comprised two satellites launched in 2003 and 2004, jointly with
ESA
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
, to study the Earth's magnetosphere.
*
Earth observation
Earth observation (EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and biological systems of the planet Earth. It can be performed via remote-sensing technologies (Earth observation satellites) or through direct-contact sensors ...
,
remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
or
reconnaissance satellites
A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications.
The ...
Dongfanghong program
Dongfanghong () was a satellite program of the People's Republic of China. The program started in August 1965 as Project 651—a less ambitious successor to the earlier Project 581—with the goal of launching a satellite heavier than both Sputn ...
,
Fanhui Shi Weixing
The Fanhui Shi Weixing () series of satellites was China's first reconnaissance satellite program. The satellites were used for military reconnaissance and civilian imagery tasks and completed 23 missions between November 1974 and April 2016. The ...
,
Yaogan
Yaogan () is the cover name used by the People's Republic of China to refer to its military reconnaissance satellites. Yaogan satellites are largely known to primarily support the People's Liberation Army's Strategic Support Force (PLASSF), fo ...
and
Ziyuan 3
Ziyuan 3-01 or ZY 3-01 ( meaning ''Resources 3'') is a Chinese Earth observation satellite launched in January 2012. It is a high-resolution imaging satellite operated by the Ministry of Land and Resources of the People's Republic of China.
Sp ...
.
*
Tianlian I
Tianlian (Simplified Chinese: 天链, Traditional Chinese: 天鏈, English: ''Sky Link'') also known as CTDRS, is a Chinese Data relay satellite, data relay communication satellite constellation. The constellation serves to relay data from groun ...
telecommunication satellite
*
Tianlian II
Tianlian (Simplified Chinese: 天链, Traditional Chinese: 天鏈, English: ''Sky Link'') also known as CTDRS, is a Chinese Data relay satellite, data relay communication satellite constellation. The constellation serves to relay data from groun ...
() Next generation data relay satellite (DRS) system, based on the DFH-4 satellite bus, with two satellites providing up to 85% coverage.
*
Beidou navigation system
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS; ) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations. The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and ...
or Compass Navigation Satellite System, composed of 60 to 70 satellites, during the " Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period (2006–2010).
*
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...
research, with the launch of the world's largest Solar Space Telescope in 2008, and ''Project 973''
Space Hard X-Ray Modulation Telescope
Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT) also known as Insight () is a Chinese X-ray space observatory, launched on June 15, 2017 to observe black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nucleus, active galactic nuclei and other phenomena based on th ...
() by 2010.
* Deep Space Tracking Network with the completion of the FAST, the world's largest single dish
radio antenna
In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an ...
of 500 m in Guizhou, and a 3000 km
VLBI
Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. T ...
radio antenna.
* A '' Deep Impact''-style mission to test process of re-directing the direction of an asteroid or comet.
Shenzhou spacecraft
Shenzhou (, ; see ) is a spacecraft developed and operated by China to support its crewed spaceflight program, China Manned Space Program. Its design resembles the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but it is larger in size. The first launch was on 19 ...
.
* Tiangong - first three crewed Chinese Space Laboratories.
*
Project 921-2
The Tiangong program () is China's space program to create a modular space station, comparable to Mir. This program is independent and unconnected to any other international space-active countries. The program is part of the China Manned Spac ...
– permanent crewed modular Chinese Space Station
* Tianzhou – robotic cargo vessel to resupply the Chinese Space Station, based on the design of
Tiangong-1
Tiangong-1 () was China's first prototype space station. It orbited Earth from September 2011 to April 2018, serving as both a crewed laboratory and an experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities during its ...
, not meant for reentry, but usable for garbage disposal.
*
Next-generation crewed spacecraft
The next-generation crewed spacecraft () is a type of reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The prototype of the spacecraft underwent its first uncrewed test flight on 5 May ...
() – upgrade version of the Shenzhou spacecraft to resupply the Chinese Space Station and return cargo back to Earth.
* Project 921-11 – X-11 reusable spacecraft for Project 921-2 Space Station.
* Tianjiao-1 or Chang Cheng-1 (Great Wall-1) - winged spaceplane orbiters of Project 869 reusable shuttle system. Project of 1980s-1990s.
*
Shenlong
Shenlong, (, literally "god dragon" or "divine dragon", Japanese: 神竜 Shinryū) is a spiritual dragon from Chinese mythology who is the master of storms and also a bringer of rain. He is of equal significance to other creatures such as Tianlon ...
- winged spaceplane orbiter of current
Project 921-3
Project 921-3 is a crewed spacecraft sub-system of Project 921. The term 921-3 is often used for the Chinese spaceplane program.
History
The Chinese National Manned Space Program was given the designation of Project 921 in 1992. This broad ...
reusable shuttle system.
* Tengyun - winged spaceplane orbiter in another current project of two wing-staged reusable shuttle system.
* HTS Maglev Launch Assist Space Shuttle - winged spaceplane orbiter in another current shuttle project.
Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
* First phase,
Chang'e 1
Chang'e 1 (; ) was an unmanned Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecraft, part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The spacecraft was named after the Chinese Moon goddess, Chang'e.
Chang'e 1 was launched on 24 October 2007 at 1 ...
and
Chang'e 2
Chang'e 2 (; ) is a Chinese unmanned lunar probe that was launched on 1 October 2010. It was a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 lunar probe, which was launched in 2007. Chang'e 2 was part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, and ...
– launched in 2007 and 2010
* Second phase,
Chang'e 3
Chang'e 3 (; ) is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of t ...
and
Chang'e 4
Chang'e 4 (; ) is a robotic spacecraft mission, part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. China achieved humanity's first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, on 3 January 2019.
A communication relay satellit ...
– launched in 2013 and 2018
* Third phase,
Chang'e 5-T1
Chang'e 5-T1 () was an experimental robotic spacecraft that was launched to the Moon on 23 October 2014 by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to conduct atmospheric re-entry tests on the capsule design planned to be used in the Cha ...
(completed in 2014) and
Chang'e 5
Chang'e 5 () was the fifth lunar exploration mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, and China's first lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. It launched ...
– launched in Dec 2020
* Fourth phase,
Chang'e 6
Chang'e 6 () is a planned robotic Chinese lunar exploration mission that is expected to launch in 2025 and perform China's second sample return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e.
Ov ...
,
Chang'e 7
Chang'e 7 () is a planned robotic China, Chinese lunar exploration mission expected to be launched in 2026 to target the lunar south pole. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. The mission will inc ...
and
Chang'e 8
Chang'e ( ; , alternatively rendered as Chang-Er or Ch‘ang-o), originally known as Heng'e, is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. She is the subject of several legends in Chinese mythology, most of which incorporate several of the following elem ...
– will explore the south pole for natural resources; may 3D-print a structure using regolith.
* Crewed mission: In the 2030s, – crewed lunar missions
Deep Space Exploration Program
China's first deep space probe, the
Yinghuo-1
Yinghuo-1 () was a Chinese Mars-exploration space probe, intended to be the first Chinese planetary space probe and the first Chinese spacecraft to orbit Mars. It was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on 8 November 2011, along with ...
orbiter, was launched in November 2011 along with the joint
Fobos-Grunt
Fobos-Grunt or Phobos-Grunt (russian: link=no, Фобос-Грунт, where ''грунт'' refers to the ''ground'' in the narrow geological meaning of any type of soil or rock exposed on the surface) was an attempted Russian sample return mis ...
mission with Russia, but the rocket failed to leave Earth orbit and both probes underwent destructive re-entry on 15 January 2012.
In 2018, Chinese researchers proposed a deep space exploration roadmap to explore Mars, an asteroid, Jupiter, and further targets, within the 2020–2030 timeframe.. Current and upcoming robotic missions include:
*
Chinese Deep Space Network
The Chinese Deep Space Network (CDSN) is a network of large antennas and communication facilities that are used for the interplanetary spacecraft missions of China. It is managed by the China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control Center General ...
relay satellites, for deep-space communication and exploration support network.
*
Tianwen-1
-1 (TW-1; zh, t=, s=, l='Heavenly Questions') is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lander, rem ...
, launched on 23 July 2020 with arrival at Mars on 10 February 2021. Mission includes an orbiter, a deployable and remote camera, a lander, and the ''Zhurong'' rover.
* Tianwen-2, formerly ''ZhengHe'', targeted for launch in 2025. Mission goals include asteroid flyby observations, global remote sensing, robotic landing, and
sample return
A sample-return mission is a spacecraft mission to collect and return samples from an extraterrestrial location to Earth for analysis. Sample-return missions may bring back merely atoms and molecules or a deposit of complex compounds such as lo ...
. ''Tianwen-2'' is now in active development.
*
Interstellar Express
''Interstellar Express'' or ''Interstellar Heliosphere Probe'' (), is the current name for a proposed Chinese National Space Administration program designed to explore the heliosphere and interstellar space. The program will feature two space ...
, targeting for launch around 2024–2025 for ''Interstellar Heliosphere Probe-1'' (IHP-1) and around 2025–2026 for ''Interstellar Heliosphere Probe-2'' (IHP-2). Mission objectives include exploration of the heliosphere and interstellar space. Also to become the first non-NASA probes to leave the Solar System.
* Mars Sample Return Mission, initially proposed for launch around 2028–2030. Mission goals include in-situ topography and soil composition analysis, deep interior investigations to probe the planet's origins and geologic evolution, and sample return. As of December 2019, the plan is for two launches to be conducted during the November 2028 Earth-to-Mars launch window: a sample collection lander with Mars ascent vehicle on a
Long March 3B
The Long March 3B (, ''Chang Zheng 3B''), also known as the CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rocke ...
, and an Earth Return Orbiter on a
Long March 5
Long March 5 (LM-5; zh, s=长征五号 , p=Chángzhēng wǔ hào), or Changzheng 5 (CZ-5), and also by its nickname "''Pang-Wu''" (胖五, "''Fat-Five''"), is a Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehic ...
, with samples returning to Earth in September 2031. Earlier plans implemented the mission in a single launch using the
Long March 9
Long March 9 (, LM-9 or Changzheng 9, CZ-9) is a Chinese super-heavy carrier rocket concept that is currently under development. It is the ninth iteration of the Long March rocket family, named for the Chinese Red Army's 1934–35 Long March cam ...
.
* Jupiter System orbiter, tentatively named ''Gan De'', proposed for launch around 2029–2030, and arriving at
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
around 2035–2036. Mission goals include orbital
exploration of Jupiter
The exploration of Jupiter has been conducted via close observations by automated spacecraft. It began with the arrival of ''Pioneer 10'' into the Jovian system in 1973, and, , has continued with eight further spacecraft missions. All of thes ...
magnetohydrodynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD; also called magneto-fluid dynamics or hydromagnetics) is the study of the magnetic properties and behaviour of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such magnetofluids include plasmas, liquid metals, ...
in the Jupiter system, and investigation of the internal composition of Jupiter's atmosphere and moons, especially Ganymede.
* A mission to Uranus, still tentative, has been proposed for implementation after 2030, with a probe arriving in the 2040s. It is currently envisioned as part of a future planetary flyby phase of exploration, and would study the
solar wind
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona. This plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between . The composition of the sola ...
and
interplanetary magnetic field
The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), now more commonly referred to as the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF), is the component of the solar magnetic field that is dragged out from the solar corona by the solar wind flow to fill the Solar Syst ...
as well.
These missions, with the exception of the Uranus mission, have been officially approved or are in the study phase as of June 2017.
Research
The Center for Space Science and Applied Research (CSSAR), was founded in 1987 by merging the former Institute of Space Physics (i.e. the Institute of Applied Geophysics founded in 1958) and the Center for Space Science and Technology (founded in 1978). The research fields of CSSAR mainly cover 1. Space Engineering Technology; 2. Space Weather Exploration, Research, and Forecasting; 3. Microwave Remote Sensing and Information Technology.
See also
*
Beihang University
Beihang University, previously known as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (), abbreviated as BUAA or Beihang ( zh, c=北航, p=), is a national public research university located in Beijing, China, specializing in engineering, t ...
*
China and weapons of mass destruction
The People's Republic of China has developed and possesses weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and nuclear weapons. The first of China's nuclear weapons tests took place in 1964, and its first hydrogen bomb test occurred in 1967 ...
*
Two Bombs, One Satellite
Two Bombs, One Satellite () was an early nuclear and space project of the People's Republic of China. ''Two Bombs'' refers to the atomic bomb (and later the hydrogen bomb) and the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), while ''One Satellite' ...
Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin Institute of Technology (; abbreviation: HIT or ) is a public research university and a member of China's elite C9 League and a member of the University Alliance of the Silk Road. HIT is a Chinese Ministry of Education Class A Doubl ...
*
French space program
The French space program includes both civil and military spaceflight activities. It is the third oldest national space program in the world, after the Soviet (now Russian) and American space programs, and the largest space program in Europe.
B ...
*
List of human spaceflights to the Tiangong space station
This is a list of human spaceflights to the Tiangong space station.
Past
Ongoing
Future
References
{{Spaceflight lists and timelines
Lists of human spaceflights, Tiangong ...
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...
James Oberg
James Edward Oberg (born November 7, 1944) is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian and Chinese space programs. He had a 22-year career as a space engineer in NASA specializing in orbital rendezvous. Ob ...