In the history of mankind, China takes pride in its ancient civilization. This includes its invention of gunpowder some six hundred years ago, which paved the way for the modern rocket. Today, with the imminent launch of China's first manned spacecraft Shenzhou 5, let's look back on how China has tried to conquer space over the past five decades.
China's first attempt at independently developing its astronautical industry can be dated back to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The 1950's saw the start of modern astronautic industry in China, but it was not until the 1960's that any substantial progress was made.
Inspired by Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, who became the first human being to enter space on April 12, 1961, the Chinese Academy of Sciences set up the Interstellar Transport Commission, which was devoted to the long-term planning of Chinese space flight.
A major breakthrough in China's astronautic technology s came in 1966. While making plans to develop its first manned spacecraft, Shuguang, China succeeded in launching guided missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons on October 27. This development marked a turning point in China's research of satellite launch vehicles. One month later, China began developing its first carrier rocket, the Long March 1, and the man-made satellite, Dongfanghong 1.
In 1968, the China Space Technology Research Institute was established, bringing China's astronautic research from the exploration and preparation stage to that of planned development and application. At the same time, China's first 19 taikonauts were selected from over 1000 fighter pilots. However, despite ongoing technical preparations and experiments, the Shuguang manned space flight project was terminated due to the harsh social and political environment brought about by the Cultural Revolution. The 19 taikonauts could never make journey into space.
Despite this setback, research into man-made satellites made rapid progress. With China's successful launch of the Dongfanghong 1 satellite on April 24, 1970, China became the world's fifth country capable of developing and launching satellites after the Soviet Union, United States, France and Japan, and became the member of the international space club.
At the same time, China also entered a new stage of development in carrier rocket technology.
China's first intercontinental rocket "Long March 1" was successfully launched on September 10, 1971. China developed its second-generation space transport vehicle - the Long March 2 rocket series. Over the past two decades, the Long March 2 Series has been upgraded several times to improve its reliability and capacity. All the Shenzhou spaceships in China's manned space flight program were launched by Long March 2 rockets. Furthermore, the Long March 2's successful testing of a retrievable satellite in 1975 laid the foundation for further development of China's manned space flight program.
The 1980's was a period of rapid growth for Chinese space technology. The successful launch of the Long March 3 was without doubt a major event, which also brought the country into the forefront of carrier rocket technology around the world.
In the mid 1980's, China succeeded in launching communication satellites, heralding a new era of satellite telecommunications. As a result, the range of TV signals was extended from 30 percent to 80 percent of the country's population. Over 500 cities across the country were now able to enjoy long-distance autodial telephone services.
But it's not only telecommunications that are benefiting from satellite technology. In 1988, the experimental meteorological satellite, Fengyun 1, was put into space. Thanks to the high-quality cloud images acquired by the satellite, weather forecasts came to play an invaluable role in developing China's economy.
In the 1990s, China's Long March rockets made their presence known in the international commercial satellite launch market. Since successfully putting the US-made "Asia 1" communications satellite into its designated orbit in 1990, China has conducted 22 commercial satellite launches and five payload launches, sending 27 foreign-made satellites into orbit. China has also sent three foreign-made craft into orbit and successfully retrieved them.
With its fledging satellite launch technology, the Chinese government decided to implement its manned space flight program, the Shenzhou Project, in early 1992. The project lays claim to being the largest and most technically complex aerospace endeavor of China in the late 20th century and early 21st century.
While the design and construction of the Shenzhou spaceship was underway, China started the selection process for its second group of taikonauts in 1999. 14 were finally shortlisted as being capable of carrying out the mission. From November 20, 1999 to December 30, 2002, Shenzhou spaceships 1 to 4 were all carried into space and retrieved successfully. Though none of these spacecraft carried astronauts, there is no doubt that these four attempts are a declaration to the world that China is capable of sending its taikonauts into space and bringing them safely back to earth.
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