''Dong Fang Hong 1'' (), in the

western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

also known as China 1 or PRC 1, was the first space satellite of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(PRC), launched successfully on 24 April 1970 as part of the PRC's Dongfanghong space satellite program. It was a part of the " Two Bombs, One Satellite" program. At , it was heavier than the first satellites of other countries. The satellite carried a

radio transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna with the purpose of signal transmissio ...

which broadcast the then '' de facto''

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

of the same name. The broadcast lasted for 20 days while in orbit. It was developed under the direction of

Qian Xuesen Qian Xuesen ( zh, s=钱学森; December 11, 1911October 31, 2009; also spelled as Tsien Hsue-shen) was a Chinese aerospace engineer and cyberneticist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineering ...

, dean of the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). At the time, a total of five identical satellites were created. The first satellite launched successfully. The academy formulated a "Three-Satellite Plan" consisting of ''Dongfanghong 1'', re-entry satellites, and

geosynchronous orbit A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

Sun Jiadong Sun Jiadong (; born 8 April 1929) is a Chinese aerospace engineer who is an expert in carrier rocket and satellite technology. He has long served as a leader of Chinese satellite projects, and is currently the chief designer for the Chinese Luna ...

was responsible for the ''Dongfanghong 1'' technology. In 1967, Dang Hongxin chose a

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

antenna membrane that resolved the difficulties of broadcasting on an ultra-short wave antenna between 100 °C and −100 °C. Engineers installed a music player playing "The East is Red" on the satellite.

Launch

While ''Dongfanghong 1'' was transported to the launch site by train, armed guards were placed between every two electricity poles. On 24 April 1970, at 13:35:45 GMT, 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 1 (rocket family), Long March rocket family. Like the U.S.'s and the Soviet Union's first rockets, it was based on a class of ba ...

(CZ-1) lifted off 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 ( spacep ...

, placing the ''Dongfanghong 1'' satellite in orbit at 13:48 GMT.

Objectives

The primary purpose of the ''Dong Fang Hong 1'' satellite was to perform tests of satellite

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

and take readings of the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

and

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

Satellite design

The satellite was similar in shape to a symmetrical 72-faced polyhedron, had a mass of , and had a diameter of approximately . It spun 120 times per minute for stabilization. The outer surface was coated with a processed aluminum alloy for temperature control. The main body of the sphere had four ultrashortwave whip antennas of at least in length. The lower section was connected to a stage containing a rocket motor. It had a shiny metallic ring added to the bottom, with brightness magnitude from +5 to +8.

Orbit

The satellite was launched into orbit with a

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

of , an

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

of and

inclination Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object. For a satellite orbiting the Eart ...

of 68.42°. This near-Earth elliptical orbit has an

orbital period The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...

of 114.09 minutes. It has

Satellite Catalog Number The Satellite Catalog Number (SATCAT), also known as NORAD Catalog Number, NORAD ID, USSPACECOM object number, is a sequential nine-digit number assigned by the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM), and previously the North American Aerospac ...

04382 and International Designator 1970-034A. ''Dong Fang Hong 1'' had a design life of 20 days. During that time, it transmitted telemetry data and space readings to the Earth. On 14 May 1970, its signal stopped.

Reaction

With the successful launch of ''Dong Fang Hong 1'', China became the fifth country after the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

to independently launch a satellite. Although ''Dong Fang Hong 1'' was launched nearly 13 years after '' Sputnik I'', its mass exceeded the combined masses of the first satellites of the other four countries. After this launch, Qian Xuesen proposed to the Chinese government that China should develop a manned space program and submitted a manned space undertaking report to which

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

personally approved. On 21 April 2005, the Chinese Academy of Space Technology gathered the science and technology personnel who participated in the design, manufacture, production, and supervision of ''Dong Fang Hong 1''. The birthplace of ''Dong Fang Hong 1'', the Beijing Satellite Manufacturing Plant, was used as a monument. The manufacturing plant, in coordination with the

Shenzhou 5 Shenzhou 5 (, see ) was the first human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, launched on 15 October 2003. The Shenzhou (spacecraft), Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous fl ...

manned spacecraft anniversary, created a 1:1 scale replica of the ''Dong Fang Hong 1'' satellite. It was exhibited in the Beijing Planetarium.

References