Space of the People's Republic of China

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Models of the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft and the CZ-5 launcher at the Xi'an National Civil Space Industrial Park

The Chinese space program began in 1956 with the establishment of a military research institute that spans numerous intermediary steps - - still state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation developed. The National Space Agency of China (CNSA) was founded in 1993 for the organizational aspects of unmanned space travel, and the Manned Space Travel Office (CMSA) has been responsible for manned space travel since 1992 . Private space travel has been funded since 2014.

History of Chinese Space Travel

Drawing of a CZ-2F missile (Long March)

Launchers

The hour of birth of Chinese space travel is October 8, 1956. On this day the “ 5th Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense ” was founded, where the two scientists Qian Xuesen and Ren Xinmin , among others , worked. Initially, however, they only dealt with military missiles based on Soviet technology. After breaking with the Soviet Union in 1960, they continued to work independently. China's first short-range missile, Dongfeng 1, was launched on November 5, 1960, and the Dongfeng 2A medium-range missile on June 29, 1964.

At the same time, civil sounding rockets were being developed . On February 19, 1960, the first liquid - powered sounding rocket of the type " T-7M " took off from the Laogang launch site near Shanghai. China's first space rocket was the three-stage Langer Marsch 1 launcher, based on the Dongfeng 2A, or “Changzheng 1” in Chinese, hence mostly “CZ-1” for short. It had its first flight, lasting only 69 seconds, on November 16, 1969.

On February 15, 1996, a missile of the type " CZ-3B " with an Intelsat satellite failed to launch at the Xichang Cosmodrome - the missile hit a mountainside shortly after launch. Many people were killed in the rocket fuel explosion. After another false start on August 18, 1996, several international customers terminated their already concluded contracts.

China's first space launch vehicle whose stages contained only solid propellants ( solid fuel rocket ) was the Kaituozhe 1 . In 2002, 2003 - and probably also in 2005 - she only suffered false starts. Only with the successor model Kaituozhe 2 was a successful flight on March 2, 2017, but this rocket was no longer used. The solid rockets of the Kuaizhou series manufactured by the same company , on the other hand, were consistently successful from their first flight on September 25, 2013 to a false start on July 10, 2020.

Satellites

The first Chinese satellite launch took place on April 24, 1970 as part of " Project 651 " . The experimental satellite Dong Fang Hong I was transported from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome into space with a CZ-1 rocket . In 1975 it was possible for the first time to bring a payload back to earth. A new CZ-2C missile was launched on November 26th for this mission. At that time, this ability was of military importance, as it allowed film cassettes with strategically important recordings to be retrieved and evaluated. Since 1988, Fengyun series weather satellites have been placed in geosynchronous or polar, sun-synchronous orbits. The series became known through a successful and consequential Chinese anti-satellite missile test .

On April 7, 1990, the AsiaSat-1 satellite launched the first commercial satellite launch. It took place from the Xichang launch center with a CZ-3 launcher .

The first earth observation satellite of the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite Program was launched on October 14, 1999, and others followed. Since 2006, remote sensing satellites of the Yaogan Weixing type have been launched. Gaofen 1 , the first satellite of the High Resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS), was launched on April 26, 2013.

With the Double-Star project (a joint venture with the European Space Agency ), purely scientific satellites were launched for the first time in 2003/2004, followed by the research satellite DAMPE (Dark Matter Particle Explorer) in 2015 and the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope in 2017.

China also has its own satellite navigation system called " Beidou ". The first, local expansion stage was put into operation in 2003, Beidou 2 for the Asia-Pacific region in 2012, and the Beidou 3 system, which can be used worldwide, with 5 satellites in geostationary orbits, 27 in medium orbits and 3 in inclined geosynchronous orbits on December 31 July 2020.

Manned space travel

The first plans for a manned space program existed since 1966. On July 14, 1970, the Shuguang project was started, named "Project 714" after the date. The spaceship, similar to the American Gemini capsule , was supposed to transport two spacemen into space, but political and economic reasons let the project fail. On September 21, 1992, the manned space program of the People's Republic of China was launched , later known as "Project 921". From this the spaceships of the Shenzhou series emerged.

On October 15, 2003, China's first manned space flight took place. On board Shenzhou 5 , which took off that day, was Yang Liwei , who completed a 21-hour flight. The second manned space flight Shenzhou 6 took place on October 12, 2005, this time two space travelers flew for the first time, the start was broadcast live on state television for the first time. On September 25, 2008, Shenzhou 7 launched with three space travelers, making the first Chinese space exit.

Relay satellites of the Tianlian series have been placed geostationary since 2008 in order to enable continuous communication, especially with the manned spaceships.


Chinese space flights between 1970 and 2012 (blue: success, red: failure).

Cosmodrome

Spaceflight of the People's Republic of China (China)
Jiuquan
Jiuquan
Taiyuan
Taiyuan
Xichang
Xichang
Wenchang
Wenchang
Cosmodrome in the People's Republic of China

There are currently four launch centers in use for launchers of different versions of the Long March type:

Current and future development

Missile development

Currently (2020) the People's Republic of China is developing the partially reusable Langer Marsch 8 launcher , a rocket with a payload of 7.6 tons

Program to explore the moon

Chang'e-1, the first Chinese lunar probe

The China National Space Agency's program to explore the moon consists of several phases:

  • Phase 1: First, the unmanned Chang'e-1 probe was sent into lunar orbit . The launch took place on October 24, 2007. The task of the probe was an orbiter mission, during which data were obtained from the surface. A second probe, Chang'e-2, was on the move as an orbiter, but then left the moon to stay at Lagrangian point L2; it then examined (4179) Toutatis . Since then, the probe has been operated in deep space and is intended to explore the tracking capabilities of the Chinese deep space network .
  • Phase 2: In 2013, the Chang'e-3 probe landed on the lunar surface. On board was Jade Rabbit, a moon vehicle . The lander undertook experiments on the lunar surface, the environmental conditions and the moon rocks were analyzed. The most important part of the mission, however, was the first-time realization of a landing on the surface of the moon and the scientific exploration. In July 2006, around 20 universities and institutions were working on the design of the moon rover. On January 3, 2019, Chang'e-4 landed a probe on the far side of the moon for the first time in human history.
  • Phase 3 : In preparation for the third phase, the Chang'e 5-T1 probe flew once around the moon and then re-entered the earth's atmosphere. At the end of 2020, the Chang'e 5 mission is to be carried out, which will collect rock samples from the moon and bring them back to Earth. If it is possible to develop nuclear fusion reactors for deuterium-tritium fusion, the extraction of helium-3 from the moon could become economically interesting. Measured against the current energy requirements of the People's Republic of China, this would correspond to 3 tons of helium-3 per year as a fusion fuel.

Solar system exploration program

After the start of the Martian probe Tianwen-1 on July 23, 2020, three more missions to explore the solar system are specifically planned until 2030. About the release of funds for a combined mission to the near-Earth asteroid (469219) Kamoʻoalewa and the main belt comet (7968) Elst-Pizarro in 2022, a sample return mission to Mars in April 2029 and the orbit of a Jupiter moon in 2030 the State Council of the People's Republic of China is in consultation in April 2020. A mission to explore the heliopause is also proposed , during which two probes will set off in opposite directions to the edges of the solar system in 2024 and reach a distance of 100 AU from Earth in 2049 on the 100th birthday of the People's Republic of China . A third probe is scheduled to launch perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic in 2030 .

Originally, the project groups that prepare the respective missions worked independently of one another in the center for lunar exploration and space projects of the National Space Agency . On April 24, 2020 the 50th anniversary of the launch of China's first satellite Dongfanghong I , however, was inaugurated in a common organizational structure for interplanetary missions, "Chinese Planetary Exploration" or "PEC" (中国行星探测, Pinyin Zhōngguó Xingxing tance ), with its own logo, which shows the eight planets of the solar system on half orbits that look like a "C". According to the National Space Agency, the “C” stands for “China” as well as for “(International) Cooperation” (see below for the political aspects of Chinese space travel). The interplanetary missions of China now all bear the name "Tianwen" (天 问 or "Heavenly Questions"), after the eponymous poem by Qu Yuan from the " Elegies of Chu ", which consists of 183 puzzles , followed by a serial number, which is based on the start date is awarded. Launched in July 2020 Mars mission was therefore "Tianwen-1" (天问一号, Pinyin Tianwen Yihao called).

Manned space program

Chinese spacemen

Chinese spacemen are also called Taikonauts in the West . So far there have been eleven astronauts who have been deployed in space: Yang Liwei (Shenzhou 5), Fei Junlong (Shenzhou 6), Nie Haisheng (Shenzhou 6 and 10), Zhai Zhigang , Liu Boming (both Shenzhou 7), Jing Haipeng (Shenzhou 7, 9 and 11), as well as Liu Wang , Liu Yang (both Shenzhou 9), Zhang Xiaoguang , Wang Yaping (both Shenzhou 10) and Chen Dong (Shenzhou 11). The Shenzhou 1-4 and Shenzhou 8 missions were unmanned.

In addition to the 14 astronauts selected in 1998, another group of seven trainee astronauts (five men and two women) was trained as of 2010, all interceptor and fighter-bomber pilots with at least 600 hours of flight time. However, the requirements were scaled down during the selection process for 17 to 18 additional space travelers, which began on April 23, 2018. Since the crew for the planned modular space station will be selected from this group, not only pilots of the Chinese Air Force , but also engineers and scientists from the space industry (i.e. from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and its subsidiaries), research institutes and universities were applicants assumed who should take care of the payloads on the space station.

Space exit

Recovered landing capsule from the Shenzhou 5 mission

The first spacewalk by a Chinese astronauts took place at the Shenzhou-7 mission place on 27 September, 2008.

Establishment of a space station

The country is not involved in the International Space Station ISS through a veto by the USA , but China had its own space laboratory called Tiangong 1 . Tiangong 1 took off with the Long March 2 F launcher on September 29, 2011 at 1:16 p.m. UTC .

This was followed by the unmanned Shenzhou 8 mission , which carried out a docking maneuver with the space station for the first time in orbit. The subsequent manned Shenzhou 9 mission started on June 16 to repeat the docking maneuver and occupy Tiangong 1. It was followed by Shenzhou 10 , which docked with the station in June 2013. On April 2, 2018 at around 02:16 a.m. Central European Summer Time (00:16 UTC), Tiangong 1 entered the Earth's atmosphere over the South Pacific and broke into several parts. According to the US Air Force, parts that had not burned out fell into the sea about 100 kilometers northwest of Tahiti .

The Tiangong 2 space station was launched in September 2016 and operated by the Shenzhou 11 crew for a month. After that, an unmanned supply spaceship of the Tianzhou type was tested there for the first time in 2017 .

Future

The next goal of the manned space program of the People's Republic of China , often abbreviated “CMS” because of the English name China Manned Space abroad, is the construction of a modular space station , which Template: future / in 2 yearsshould go into operation in 2022 at the earliest . The project was presented to the public on October 27, 2010, at that time with the planned operational readiness in 2020.

The Mars return probe presented to the public in 2016 , which is intended to serve as a preliminary study for a manned lunar module due to the weight required for this, requires the new Langer Marsch 9 launcher , which will be Template: future / in 5 yearsavailable at the end of the 2020s at the earliest .

financing

Chinese space travel was originally financed solely from the defense budget. Since January 1, 2016, the entire infrastructure, from the deep space network to the cosmodromes to the university for space technology , where the personnel for the ground stations and cosmodromes is trained , has been under the control of the People's Liberation Army's Strategic Combat Support Force . Human spaceflight is under the Central Military Commission , and "National Space Administration of China" is the term used externally for the National Agency for Science, Technology and Industry for national defense .

With the beginning of the commercial satellite launches in 1990, additional money came into the system. In such launches, the China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation , acts as an intermediary between the customer and the military-industrial complex of the People's Republic of China. CGWIC takes care of the launcher, arranges, if the customer so wishes, the construction of the satellite, its insurance and the launch. The customer receives a package solution, pays CGWIC, which in turn forwards the money to the People's Liberation Army and the parent company.

Numerous space projects also benefit from government funding programs. As of 2020, the most important of these are:

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the main contractor for large-scale scientific and technical projects and research projects, is a thoroughly profitable company thanks to this system. Although the company pre-finances things like the Shijian 20 technology test satellite from its own funds, it was able to post just over 8% of total sales as net profit each year in the period 2015-2019. Its sister company China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation , which operates in the market for commercial satellite launches with solid launchers through various subsidiaries, was less successful with this - on January 9, 2020, the state market surveillance authority issued an official warning against ExPace GmbH, the manufacturer of Kuaizhou Missiles out.

Political Aspects

White papers and programs

On October 12, 2006, the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China presented a new white paper entitled "China's Space Travel 2006". The document was divided into five chapters: Development Goals and Principles; The progress over the past five years; Development goals and main tasks for the next five years; Basics of development and measures; International exchange and cooperation. - China has always followed the path of peaceful development, China.org.cn said on the occasion of the presentation, and always maintained the position that “space should be explored for the common welfare of mankind”. The last white paper was published in 2000; since then, Chinese space travel has made great strides.

In the document, the leadership of the People's Republic confirmed its intention to develop its own satellite navigation system called “ Beidou ”, although the country was still involved in the European Galileo project at the time. Observers were very critical of another European competitor in the construction of a global navigation satellite system ; the business model for financing would then possibly hardly be feasible. They also asked themselves the extent to which the People's Republic of China could withdraw know-how from Europe. The further development of the launchers at the time was also set out in the White Paper as a goal, and commercial activities were to be expanded further.

These white papers, which are now being published in the rhythm of the five-year plans, i.e. 2011, 2016 etc., are in principle government declarations. But there are also so-called "programs" (工程, Pinyin Gōngchéng ). These are legally binding documents that break down projects such as the construction of a permanently manned space station or the exploration of the moon - sometimes several decades in advance - into individual steps. In connection with the fifteen-year plan from which these programs are financed, this gives the companies and institutions involved a great deal of planning security and enables the interlinked development of individual projects. For example, the Mars probe Tianwen-1 uses the autonomous obstacle avoidance system of the lunar probe Chang'e-3 for landing , while Chang'e-7 uses the combined magnetic field measurement by rover and orbiter, as developed for Tianwen-1.

It should be noted that the programs are only valid in the form in which they have been signed by the respective Prime Minister . The version of the Mars program of the People's Republic of China from January 11, 2016 ends with an unmanned return mission. For example, when Zhang Bainan , deputy technical director of the People's Republic of China's manned space program and member of parliament for the CCP, speaks of a manned flight to Mars, it is to be taken seriously, especially since they are at the Qian Xuesen Laboratory for Space Technology , a state enterprise , deals intensively with the habitability and long-term sustainable exploration of planets. As of 2020, such a mission is not yet an official part of China's space travel.

Chinese dream and space dream

Shortly after his election as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in November 2012, Xi Jinping coined the term “ Chinese Dream ” while touring the “Path to Revival” exhibition at the Chinese National Museum . Initially, this simply meant the return of China to its old size. However, after his election as president on March 14, 2013, Xi quickly took action and launched projects such as the New Silk Road and the far-reaching reform of national defense and the military . On June 11, 2013, at a meeting with the crew of Shenzhou 10 at the Jiuquan Cosmodrome , Xi Jinping coined the term "space dream" (航天 梦, Pinyin Hángtiān Mèng ):

Developing the space industry, making China a space power, that is the space dream that we tirelessly pursue.

In order to get this idea across to the population and to increase the acceptance of the not inconsiderable costs of space travel, on April 24, 2016, the anniversary of the start of Dong Fang Hong I , the “Space Day” was held for the first time - and every year since then “(航天 日, Pinyin Hángtiān Rì ) committed. In his opening speech, Xi Jinping repeated his statement from June 2013, expanded to include research:

To explore the vastness of the universe, to develop the space industry, to make China a space power, that is the space dream that we tirelessly pursue.

At the same time, Xi referred back to the founding years using Mao quotes, when China, starting with nuclear weapons, medium-range missiles and the first satellite, embarked on the path of self-resurrection and autochthonous innovations. As early as May 4, 2013, when he visited the Chinese Academy of Space Technology shortly after taking office as President , Xi had emphasized that the level of space technology was an important indicator of a country's real strength in the field of science and technology, but also for the real economic strength, for the domestic political strength of a country and for its strength on the international stage. "The Chinese dream leads to the space dream, the space dream drives the Chinese dream."

Since Xi Jinping's re-election on March 17, 2018, the importance of space travel in Chinese politics has continued to grow. Here, Xi Jinping clearly differs from his predecessors. For example, while at the beginning of the 2000s, during the planning phase of the lunar program under Jiang Zemin, an aggressive, militaristic tone prevailed - there was talk of "stationing" a permanent crew on the moon; when it came to the question of natural resources, it was " first come, first served ". - this has changed significantly since 2018. “Stationing” became “home on the moon”, mineral resources are only mentioned in passing and international scientific cooperation is emphasized. Meanwhile, space is a regular instrument of Chinese foreign policy, whether by developing countries free payload space on the Chinese space station is offered, it was that industrialized nations against expenses participation in projects such as the lunar samples-Rückholmission Chang'e-6 or asteroid mission Zheng He to be integrated .

Space is also of great importance for Chinese domestic politics. Technicians from the Wuhan- based China Space Sanjiang Group Corporation (a subsidiary of the state armaments company CASIC ) were dispatched to the Jiuquan Cosmodrome on March 18, 2020, even before the city, which was sealed off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was officially opened Preparing for the launch of a Kuaizhou-1A rocket , which was supposed to put two satellites for the Internet of Things into orbit, also developed and built in Wuhan . This enabled the government to demonstrate its ability to act towards its own population and to draw a contrast to the western states that were deeply involved in the pandemic crisis (at that time, for example, infections were increasing rapidly in Italy ). A lettering on the rocket dedicated to the doctors and nurses of Wuhan said: "Heroic Wuhan, great China."

Prohibition of space races

A characteristic of Chinese space policy that has remained the same over the decades is the ban on space races. In August 1965, as part of his “ three satellite plan ”, Qian Xuesen proposed the construction of a remote sensing satellite that would return to Earth and serve as the basis for a manned spaceship. However, after the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Prime Minister Zhou Enlai explicitly forbade scientists from entering a space race with the Soviet Union and the United States, ordering them instead to focus on developing satellites useful in building the country. When the media wanted to see a new space race between China and the United States in July 2020 on the occasion of the launch of the Mars probe Tianwen-1 , the CCP leadership argued in almost the same words that the improvement of living conditions in the country, especially in the post-COVID era -19 pandemic, would be far more important than a symbolic victory over the US in space.

literature

Web links

Commons : Space Travel of the People's Republic of China  - collection of images, videos, and audio files
 Wikinews: Portal: Chinese Space Travel  - In The News

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andrew Jones: China's iSpace to Make Private Orbital Launch Attempt in Early June. Space.com, May 7, 2019.
  2. ↑ CNSA: From nothing to glory in six decades - China's space program. October 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ China is also testing a solid fuel rocket. Raumfahrer.net, September 28, 2013, accessed November 16, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Lunar programs to be open to world. Xinhua online, July 27, 2006.
  5. ↑ Andrew Jones: China targets late 2020 for lunar sample return mission. Spacenews, November 1, 2019.
  6. ↑ Rainer Kayser: Long March China wants to go to the moon . Die Rheinpfalz on Sunday , July 8th 2007, p. 20.
  7. ↑ 倪伟: 中国 火星 探测 命名 “天 问 一号” ， 透露 一项 更 长远 太空 计划. In: bjnews.com.cn. April 24, 2020, accessed April 25, 2020 (Chinese).
  8. ↑ 镁 客 网: “天 问” 首次 官 宣！ 我国 行星 探测 任务 再 进 一 程 ， “揽 星 九天” 火星 先行. In: sohu.com. April 24, 2020, accessed April 24, 2020 (Chinese).
  9. ↑ Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer : History of Chinese Literature. Scherz Verlag, Bern 1990, p. 36f., 77.
  10. ↑ 胡 喆: 中国 首次 火星 探测 任务 命名 为 “天 问 一号”. In: xinhuanet.com. April 24, 2020, accessed April 24, 2020 (Chinese).
  11. ↑ 张琦: 我国 航天 员 是 如何 选拔 的？ In: cmse.gov.cn. September 17, 2015, accessed August 20, 2019 (Chinese).
  12. ↑ Peng Ying: China starts new astronaut selection process. In: xinhuanet.com. April 23, 2018, accessed August 20, 2019 .
  13. ↑ "Tiangong 1": China builds first module for space station. In: Spiegel Online. August 17, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2018 .
  14. ↑ FliegerRevue May 2010, p. 9, Chinese space station is delayed
  15. ^ Tiangong-1: Defunct China space lab comes down over South Pacific. BBC News, April 2, 2018, accessed August 20, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Helga Rietz: The Chinese space station "Tiangong-1" burns up over the South Pacific. In Neue Zürcher Zeitung , April 2, 2018.
  17. ↑ China on the way to space power. Spiegel Online, October 17, 2016 accessed on 2 January 2017 .
  18. ↑ 空间站 系统. In: cmse.gov.cn. Retrieved August 20, 2019 (Chinese).
  19. ^ Andrew Jones: China's moon, Mars and space station missions may be facing delays. In: spacenews.com. June 21, 2019, accessed on August 18, 2019 .
  20. ↑ 张利文: 我国 载人 空间站 工程 正式 启动 实施. In: cmse.gov.cn. October 27, 2010, accessed August 18, 2019 (Chinese).
  21. ↑ 孟林智 et al .: 无人 火星 取样 返回 任务 关键 环节 分析. In: jdse.bit.edu.cn. April 6, 2016, Retrieved August 7, 2019 (Chinese).
  22. ↑ 航天科工火箭技术, Ltd. In: qixin.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020 (Chinese).
  23. ↑ Taylor Dinerman: China and Galileo, continued. In: thespacereview.com. August 21, 2006, accessed August 26, 2020 .
  24. ↑ China's space travel 2006. In: german.china.org.cn. November 23, 2006, accessed August 26, 2020 .
  25. ↑ China's space travel 2011. In: german.china.org.cn. February 1, 2012, accessed August 26, 2020 .
  26. ↑ China publishes white paper on space activities. In: german.china.org.cn. December 28, 2016, accessed August 26, 2020 .
  27. ↑ 浦江 创新 论坛 《平行 未来 的 N 次 元》 对话 航天 八 院 陆 希 ： “你好 ， 火星”. In: spaceflightfans.cn. August 26, 2020, accessed August 27, 2020 (Chinese).
  28. ↑ 高 雷: 习近平 引领 航天 梦 助推 中国 梦. In: cpc.people.com.cn. September 15, 2016, accessed April 9, 2020 (Chinese).
  29. ↑ 一辆 绿 皮 火车 在 戈壁 深处 停 了 半个月 ， 车上 竟然 是 …… In: spaceflightfans.cn. April 15, 2020, accessed April 15, 2020 (Chinese).
  30. ↑ 快 舟 火箭 进场 即将 发射 “行 云 工程” 双星. In: cnsa.gov.cn. March 31, 2020, accessed April 9, 2020 (Chinese).
  31. ^ Andrew Jones: Chinese commercial rocket sells for $ 5.6 million in April Fool's Day auction. In: spacenews.com. April 3, 2020, accessed on May 12, 2020 .
  32. ^ Dwayne A. Day: Mysterious dragon: myth and reality of the Chinese space program. In: thespacereview.com. November 7, 2005, accessed August 26, 2020 .
  33. ↑ 张中江: 走近 钱学森 ： 紧挨 毛泽东 座位 的 “第一 贵宾”. In: chinanews.com. December 25, 2009, accessed August 20, 2020 (Chinese).
  34. ↑ Ludovic Ehret: China launches Mars probe in space race with US. In: phys.org. July 23, 2020, accessed on August 20, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Chee Yik-wai: China's earthly concerns take priority over 'space race' with US. In: scmp.com. August 5, 2020, accessed on August 20, 2020 .