Space program of China

The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). China's space program has overseen the development and launch of ballistic missiles, thousands of artificial satellites, manned spaceflight, an indigenous space station, and has stated plans to explore the Moon, Mars, and the broader Solar System.

The technological roots of the Chinese space program trace back to the 1950s, when, with the help of the newly-allied Soviet Union, China began development of its first ballistic missile and rocket programs in response to the perceived American (and, later, Soviet) threats.DF-1
GlobalSecurity.org. Driven by the successes of Soviet Sputnik 1 and American Explorer 1 satellite launches in 1957 and 1958 respectively, China would launch its first satellite, Dong Fang Hong 1 in April of 1970 aboard a Long March 1 rocket making it the fifth nation to place a satellite in orbit. A year later, China began development on a crewed space mission but, under pressure from Mao's Cultural Revolution on academics, was shut down and resources put to China's first reconnaissance satellite program, Fanhui Shi Weixing, 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'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, counterspace capabilities, quantum communications, 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, by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, Mao Zedong decided during the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party 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 rockets first, then launching small satellites, and in the final phase, large satellites.

During the cordial Sino-Soviet relations of the 1950s, the Soviet Union (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, 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 (). As the space race between the two superpowers reached its climax with the conquest of the Moon, Mao and Zhou Enlai 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 in the Sichuan province, code-named Base 27.

In August 1969, the development of China's first heavy-lift satellite launch vehicle (SLV), the Feng Bao 1 (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/UDMH 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'' (, 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 developed by the spin-up orbital insertion solid propellant stage. Therefore, the faint magnitude 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 and cosmic-ray/x-ray 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. 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 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 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.

1970s to 1990s

After Mao died on September 9, 1976, his rival, Deng Xiaoping, denounced during the Cultural Revolution as reactionary 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 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 series allowed the PRC to initiate a commercial launch program in 1985, which has since launched more than 50 foreign satellites, primarily for European, African and Asian 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 Ministry of Aerospace Industry was founded on July 5, 1988. On September 15, 1988, a JL-1 SLBM was launched from a Type 092 submarine. 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 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 capsules, life support systems, docking systems, and space suits. In 1996, two Chinese astronauts, Wu Jie and Li Qinglong, began training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. After training, these men returned to China and proceeded to train other Chinese astronauts at sites near Beijing and Jiuquan.

In June 1993, the China Aerospace Corporation was founded in Beijing. It was also granted the title of China National Space Administration (CNSA). On February 15, 1996, during the flight of the first Long March 3B heavy carrier rocket carrying Intelsat 708, 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 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, and in the spring of 1998, a mock-up of the Long March 2F 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 (CASC). In November 1999, after the 50th anniversary of the PRC's founding, China launched the Shenzhou 1 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.

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 began to train astronauts on how to dock spacecraft.

On October 15, 2003, astronaut Yang Liwei was put into space aboard Shenzhou 5 spacecraft by a Long March 2F rocket for more than 21 hours. China became the third country capable of conducting independent human spaceflight.

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 first lunar orbiter Chang'e 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.

On September 27, 2008, two crew members of the Shenzhou 7 carried out China's first EVA. Three years later, on September 29, 2011, China launched Tiangong-1, the first prototype of Chinese space station module. The following Shenzhou 8, Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 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, 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. On December 14, 2013, China successfully landed Chang'e 3 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 and the United States.

In 2016, Tiangong-2 and Shenzhou 11 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 conducted the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon by any country, followed by 2020's Chang'e 5, 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 was successfully launched by a Long March 3B rocket. On July 31, 2020, Chinese leader Xi Jinping 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 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, which included an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, on a Long March 5 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 in the northwest China's Qinghai Province, 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 and a signatory to all United Nations 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, Iran or Syria. 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 (NASA) are prohibited from working with Chinese citizens affiliated with a Chinese state enterprise or entity. In April 2011, the 112th United States Congress 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 to test a ground-based anti-satellite (ASAT) missile. The debris created by the explosion contributed to the space junk 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, particularly the Second Artillery Corps (now the PLA Rocket Force, 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, an agency within the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense currently headed by Zhang Kejian, is now responsible for launches. The Long March rocket is produced by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and satellites are produced by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The latter organizations are state-owned enterprises; 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
* School of Astronautics, Beihang University
* School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University
* School of Astronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University
* School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Zhejiang University
* Institute of Aerospace Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiaotong University
* College of Aeronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology
* School of Automation Science and Electrical Engineering, Beihang University

Space cities

*Dongfeng Space City (), also known as ''Base 20'' () or ''Dongfeng base'' ()
* Beijing Space City ()
* Wenchang Space City ()
*Shanghai Space City ()
*Yantai Space City ()
* Guizhou Aerospace Industrial Park (), 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 () 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 (JSLC)
* Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC)
* Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC)
** Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site (administered by Xichang SLC)

Monitoring and control centers

* Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center (BACCC)
*Xi'an Satellite Control Center (XSCC) also known as ''Base 26''()
*Fleet of six Yuanwang-class space tracking ships.
*Data relay satellite () Tianlian I (), specially developed to decrease the communication time between the Shenzhou 7 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, Shanghai, Kunming and Ürümqi, forming a 3000 km VLBI ().

Domestic tracking stations

*New integrated land-based space monitoring and control network stations, forming a large triangle with Kashi in the north-west of China, Jiamusi in the north-east and Sanya 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