![]() The space program of China began in the form of missile research since the 1950s. ![]() History Early years (1950s to mid-1970s) Qian Xuesen, the forefather of Chinese space program In recent years, China has conducted missions, including Chang'e-3, Chang'e-4, Chang'e-5, Tianwen-1 and Tiangong space station. Major programs include China Manned Space Program, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, Gaofen Observation and Planetary Exploration of China. China is also one of the three countries, alongside the United States and Russia, with independent human spaceflight capability.Ĭurrently, most of the space activities by China are managed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force, which directs the astronaut corps and the Chinese Deep Space Network. Its range of activities have expanded from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars. It operates a satellite fleet consisting of a large number of communications, navigation, remote sensing and scientific research satellites. With space launch capability provided by the Long March rocket family and four spaceports ( Jiuquan, Taiyuan, Xichang, Wenchang) within its border, China conducts either the highest or the second highest number of orbital launches each year. Driven by the successes of Soviet Sputnik 1 and American Explorer 1 satellite launches in 19 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.Ĭhina has one of the most active space programs in the world. 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 (and, later, Soviet) threats. More debris may fall to Earth later this year, when China will be launching another Long March rocket to the space station, McDowell said.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 Chinese are right that the best bet is that it will fall in the ocean,” he said, although “there are plenty of populated areas” within the rocket booster’s range. That booster is now “dead” and beyond the control of the Chinese space agency, said Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics, which is operated by Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution. “It is critical that China and all space faring nations and commercial entities act responsibly and transparently in space to ensure the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of outer space activities.”Īlso read: Can space junk actually kill you? Scientists explainĬhina’s most recent launch, which sent a module to the nation’s space station, included a booster to put the spacecraft into orbit. “It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that month. In May 2021, pieces of another Long March rocket landed in the Indian Ocean, prompting concern that the Chinese space agency had lost control of it. “Due to the uncontrolled nature of its descent, there is a non-zero probability of the surviving debris landing in a populated area - over 88% of the world’s population lives under the reentry’s potential debris footprint,” Aerospace said Tuesday. The descent of the booster, which weighs 23 metric tons (25.4 tons), would be part of what critics say is a series of uncontrolled crashes that highlights the risks of China’s escalating space race with the US. “The US and Western media deliberately exaggerate and exaggerate the ‘loss-of-control’ of the Chinese rocket debris and the probability of personal injury caused by the rocket debris, obviously with bad intentions,” Shanghai-based news site Guancha.cn said Tuesday. “The US is running out of ways to stop China’s development in the aerospace sector, so smears and defamation became the only things left for it,” the Global Times newspaper reported, citing Song Zhongping, a television commentator who closely follows China’s space program. The possible debris field includes much of the US, as well as Africa, Australia, Brazil, India and Southeast Asia, according to Aerospace’s predictions.Īlso read: Indian-origin prof is 1st Canadian to win global award for pathbreaking researchĬoncern over the reentry and the impact it could have is being dismissed by China, however, with state-backed media saying the warnings are just “sour grapes” from people resentful of the country’s development as a space power.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |