For China, aerospace travel is more than just a prestige project. It's about money, geopolitics and plans to become a high-tech nation. Get all the news on Chinese space travel from the Table.Media editorial team.
What does aeropace travel in China look like?
China's aerospace travel dates back to 1956. At that time, the Chinese Communist Party established a military research institution that evolved over the years into the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. In 1992, the China Human Spaceflight Bureau (CMSA) was added, followed a year later by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), which is responsible for organizational tasks. In addition to a major lunar mission and the construction of a space station, China plans to conduct three major missions to explore the solar system by 2030. These include flights to the asteroid Kamo'oaleva and comet 311P/PANSTARRS, a sample return mission to Mars, and exploration of Jupiter.
What is the history of aerospace exploration in China?
The establishment of the 5th Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense is considered the beginning of spaceflight in China. Based on Soviet rockets, scientists Qian Xuesen and Ren Xinmin researched military use and further development of the technology. After the political break between China and the Soviet Union, the People's Republic alone developed the Dongfeng 1 short-range missile and the Dongfeng 2A medium-range missile. To date, the Chinese missile program has made great progress, although setbacks have occurred periodically. A major criticism, however, is that China cannot control the burned-out stages of its launchers. The government knowingly accepts that the parts can also crash over populated areas. Also abroad.
China's aerospace technology: Satellite technology
In 1970, China succeeded in launching its first satellite, and in 1975 it was able to transport a payload back to Earth for the first time. Since 1988, China has also been launching weather satellites into space. The People's Republic also has satellite navigation systems: Beidou, which became operational in 2003; Beidou-2, which has been in use since 2021; and Beidou-3, which has been operational since 2020. International disputes arose in 2007 when China shot down its fengyun-1C weather satellite with a medium-range rocket. The satellite exploded uncontrollably into 40,000 pieces larger than one centimeter in diameter and several million smaller pieces. One of the fragments collided with an American small satellite that had fuel on board. For its part, the USA shot down the spinning satellite in 2008 in such a way that all the debris burned up.
Are there manned aerospace flights from China?
China's first plans to launch a human into space date back to 1966, but the so-called Shuguang project had to be abandoned due to a lack of funds and a change in policy. On September 21, 1992, China resumed manned spaceflight under the name "Project 921." The term is based on the date. The first Chinese in space was Yang Liwei aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft, who completed a 21-hour flight in space on Oct. 15, 2003. Just five years later, on Sept. 27, 2008, Zhai Zhingang became the first Chinese spacewalker to complete an extravehicular activity - as part of the Shenzhou 7 mission.
What are astronauts called in China?
In China, astronauts are also called "taikonauts." The term is used for people who fly into space as part of the Chinese space program. The artificial word is made up of three different vocabulary words. One is "taikong," which means "space." From "ren," which stands for "human." "Taikongren" would therefore mean space traveler. The suffix "-naut" was borrowed from the word "cosmonaut."
What is the political dimension of aerospace travel in China?
For President Xi Jinping, space travel is part of the Chinese Dream. By this, the Communist Party means the goal of revitalizing the nation and developing it into a world power. The name is borrowed from the "American Dream." The aerospace dream is part of this strategy. For example, during a meeting with the crew of the Shenzhou 10 in 2013, Jinping said, "Developing the space industry, making China a space power, that's the space dream we are relentlessly pursuing." In order to increase popular acceptance, "Spaceflight Day" was one of the events introduced. The level of space technology is an indicator of a nation's strength, he said. Unlike his predecessors, Xi Jinping is actively and ambitiously pushing space travel in China.
What are the Chinese aerospace flight successes?
The political commitment to space travel and the provision of necessary funds have led to China catching up very quickly in recent years and celebrating important successes. For example, the Zhurong rover has already landed on Mars, a first module of a Chinese space station is already in space, and the People's Republic was the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon. With the imminent end of the International Space Station (ISS), China sees its chance to emerge as the sole major power in space. It underscores the Communist Party's ambition. For the government, the space program is a building block in its soft power strategy that should not be underestimated - apart from the enormous technological advances that go with it.
Is China involved in the International Space Station (ISS)?
China is not involved in the International Space Station (ISS). This was prevented by a veto from the U.S., which refused to cooperate. However, funding for the station expires in 2024. An extension seems unlikely at present. Especially since Russia has announced its intention to cooperate with China in the future. The Chinese space agency CNSA wants to build a space station on the moon together with the Russian space agency Roskosmos. Although the CNSA emphasizes that the project is "open to all interested nations and international partners," U.S. participation seems ruled out. Russia is expected to contribute primarily its expertise in manned spaceflight. An area in which China still lags years behind. In addition, there is the advanced Russian technology in the field of propulsion technology with liquid oxygen and kerosene. In the space industry, lunar bases are seen as a springboard for manned missions to more remote areas - for example, to Mars.
China, Russia, USA: a race to space?
But China is not the only country with ambitious plans for space travel. The USA is simultaneously pursuing the Artemis Gateway project. Its goal is to establish a permanent space station in orbit around the moon. Although former President Donald Trump put the plans back on the agenda, the funding for Artemis was cut. Implementation by 2024 therefore seems unrealistic. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also called for his country to retain its status as a leading nuclear and space power. Roskosmos is therefore building its own space station. It is to serve as an intermediate station for flights to the moon. The cost of realization is estimated at around six billion dollars. A first basic segment is already in production. Cooperation between Russia and China in the space sector is also a sign of geopolitics. The two nations see themselves as a counterweight to the United States. The Chinese newspaper Global Times comments less diplomatically: "The two countries show their determination to maintain global justice in a multipolar world, while the U.S. imposes its ideology on others under the guise of multilateralism and interferes in states to assert its own hegemony."
Is there a boom in private spaceflight in China?
Ambitious space goals have created a large market of private providers in China. iSpace and Galactic Energy, for example, offer rocketry and satellite transportation. Consulting services in the space sector can be purchased from Ultimate Nebula, and C-Space has opened a research center for a manned Mars mission in the Gobi Desert. The Cologne-based Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft estimates that the global market in this field could reach $1,400 billion per year by 2030. In 2019, it stood at $366 billion. The long-term goal is to make money from mining raw materials on near-Earth celestial bodies and space tourism. Currently, however, the main business is building satellites and launching them into orbit.
News about space travel in China
There are geopolitical and economic interests behind space travel in China. The country wants to become a world power and a global technology leader. Space travel is supposed to help. Table.Media's editorial team has all the news and developments on the subject.