The space program of the People's Republic of China is about the activities in outer space conducted and directed by the People's Republic of China. The 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 threats. 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 1970 aboard a Long March 1 rocket,making it the fifth nation to place a satellite in orbit.
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 Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). It was established in 1957 by Dr. Xue-Sen Qian and is headquartered in Fengtai District,Beijing.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is a 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,and ground equipment. It also has a division for strategic and tactical missile systems.
Long March 2 rocket family or Chang Zheng 2 rocket family as in Chinese pinyin is an expendable launch system operated by the People's Republic of China. The rockets use the abbreviations LM-2 family for export,and CZ-2 family within China,as "Chang Zheng" means "Long March" in Chinese pinyin. They are part of the larger Long March rocket family. Development and design falls mostly under the auspices of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT).
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 March 2C made its first launch on 9 September 1982. It is a two-stage launch vehicle with storable propellants,consisting of Nitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine. The launch vehicle was derived from the DF-5 ICBM.
ChinaSat is the brand name of communications satellites operated by China Satellite Communications.
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 production facility in China. On 24 April 1970,CAST successfully launched China's first artificial satellite Dong Fang Hong I.
The Long March 2D,also known as the Chang Zheng 2D,CZ-2D,and LM-2D,is a Chinese two-stage orbital carrier rocket mainly used for launching LEO and SSO satellites. It is manufactured by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST).
Zhang Qingwei is a Chinese politician,business executive,and aerospace engineer,who is a vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. He was formerly the Communist Party Secretary of Hunan,the Communist Party Secretary of Heilongjiang,Governor of Hebei,and chairperson of the Commission for Science,Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND). Prior to his government career he was president of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and chairman of Comac,an aerospace manufacturer.
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),formerly the Aerospace Reconnaissance Bureau of the Second Department of the General Staff. The Yaogan program is the successor to the Fanhui Shi Weixing (FSW) recoverable reconnaissance satellite program but,unlike its predecessor,includes a variety of classes utilizing various means of remote sensing such as optical reconnaissance,synthetic-aperture radar (SAR),and electronic intelligence (ELINT) for maritime surveillance. Yaogan satellites have been launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) in Shanxi province,the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in Inner Mongolia,Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) in Sichuan province and the Wenchang Space Launch Site (WSLS) in Hainan province.
The Long March 6 or Chang Zheng 6 as in pinyin,abbreviated LM 6 for export or CZ 6 within China,is a Chinese liquid-fuelled launch vehicle of the Long March family,which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). The rocket was developed in the 2000s,and made its maiden flight in 2015. As one of the new generation rocket family,the Long March 6 was designed to be a light capacity,"high-speed response" rocket,complementing the heavy lift Long March 5 and the mid-heavy lift Long March 7 rocket families. It is capable of placing at least 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of payload into a Sun-synchronous orbit. The first stage of the Long March 6 was derived from the booster rockets being developed for the Long March 5 rocket. It is powered by a YF-100 engine,which generates 1,340 kN (300,000 lbf) of thrust from burning kerosene and LOX as rocket fuel and oxidiser. This was the first flight of the new engine design.
The Long March 7,or Chang Zheng 7 in pinyin,abbreviated LM-7 for export or CZ-7 within China,originally Long March 2F/H or Chang Zheng 2F/H,nicknamed Bingjian,is a Chinese liquid-fuelled launch vehicle of the Long March family,developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CAST). It made its inaugural flight on 25 June 2016.
The Long March 11,or Chang Zheng 11 as in pinyin,abbreviated LM-11 for export or CZ-11 within China,is a Chinese four stage solid-propellant carrier rocket of the Long March family,which is developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It was designed with the ability to launch on short notice and it can launch from road vehicles (CZ-11) and ships (CZ-11H). Sometimes the rocket is thought to be likely based on the DF-31 missile,which is actually not true. The vehicle can be cold launched from a launch tube mounted on a road mobile vehicle.
Tian Hui-1 is a Chinese Earth observation satellite built by Dong Feng Hong,a China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Tian Hui-1 was launched on 6 May 2012 at 9:10 UTC on a Long March 2D rocket into a Sun-synchronous,polar orbit with an perigee of 490 km (300 mi) and apogee of 505 km (314 mi).
Heweliusz is the second Polish scientific satellite launched in 2014 as part of the Bright-star Target Explorer (BRITE) programme. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Chang Zheng 4B rocket in August 2014. Heweliusz is an optical astronomy spacecraft built by the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences and operated by Centrum Astronomiczne im. Mikołaja Kopernika PAN;it is one of two Polish contributions to the BRITE constellation along with the Lem satellite. It is named after Johannes Hevelius.
Belintersat-1 is a deployed geostationary telecommunications satellite,manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and Thales Alenia Space for the Belarusian government's company Belintersat.
The Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft is the first reusable spacecraft produced by China. It embarked upon its initial orbital mission on 4 September 2020. According to media reports,the CSSHQ is launched into Earth orbit in a vertical configuration while enclosed within the payload fairings of a rocket like a traditional satellite or space capsule,but it returns to Earth via a runway landing like a conventional aircraft;the landing is conducted autonomously. In the absence of any official descriptions of the spacecraft or photographic depictions thereof,some observers have speculated that the CSSHQ may resemble the X-37B spaceplane of the United States in both form and function.
The Academy of Aerospace Solid Propulsion Technology or AASPT,also known as "The Fourth Academy",is a conglomerate of Chinese state-owned enterprises that develops rocket engines that use solid fuel. The group,which employs around 10,000 people,includes some ten entities located in the Shaanxi and Hubei regions,and is headquartered in Xi'an. AASPT is a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
The Long March 6A or Chang Zheng 6A as in pinyin,abbreviated LM 6A for export or CZ 6A within China,is a Chinese launch vehicle of the Long March family,which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST).
The Hongtu-1,known commonly by its English-language name PIESAT-1 and infrequently as Nuwa-1,is a Chinese commercial X-band interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) satellite constellation performing Earth observation missions in Sun-synchronous orbit. Hongtu-1 satellites are intended to map global non-polar regions at a scale of 1:50,000 meters to produce high-precision digital surface models (DSM),likely fulfilling both commercial,scientific,and military reconnaissance tasks.
