Rise of China’s Space Program

Book: China’s Space Program

Author: S. Chandrashekar

Reviewed By: Arup Dasgupta

wo major events that proved China’s space prowess are the Lunar lander rover, Chang’e 4 and the Mars lander rover, Tianwen-1. The question then arises: how a country which began its space activities in 1970 could develop it so rapidly to rival the successes of a leading spacing nation like the USA?

China’s Space Programme: From the Era of Mao Zedong to Xi Jinping by S Chandrashekhar provides a detailed account of the country’s rise to become a space power worth reckoning.

The book is structured in two parts. The first part, consists of five chapters covering the evolution, growth and future. The second part consists of 11 chapters which cover in detail the different aspects of the program, including the evaluation of the technology covering launchers, satellite and human spaceflight, and the international impact of the Chinese space programme. Each chapter carries a wealth of information in the form of tables and diagrams.

The book traces the evolution of the space programme beginning with the formulation of a 12-year plan in the aviation, missile, and space domains by Quian Xuesen, a US citizen who made a major contribution to the early aerospace efforts in the US. Accused of being a spy in the McCarthy era, he was deported to China in 1955. Qian became the head of the Institute of Applied Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Science, CAS. The Institute concentrated on the study of missile technology with the approval of Mao Zedong and other political top brass of the Chinese govern - ment. Further, though Qian was the Director, the unit was headed by a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) veteran. This clearly shows the deep political and military involvement in the programme.

The book, as it delves into the successive years, through a series of diagrams, traces the politico-military-administrative triad that continues to guide the Chinese efforts in space. The initial efforts were supported by the erstwhile Soviet Union through consultancy, supply of materials and training. The book notes however, that beyond the initial help the Chinese made every effort to be their own masters in all aspects of Space technology through a wellplanned program that covered all aspects including engineering, science and education.

The Chinese programme was stimulated by the early Soviet success, Sputnik-1, in 1957. Planning started in 1965 under a newly created Group 681 in CAS for sounding rockets, small satellites and heavy satellites and their launchers. To accommodate this thrust, in late 1964, the Fifth Academy became the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building and the various other units were promoted to full Academy status under the Ministry. The goal among others, was to launch a small satellite by 1971.

The Chinese Human in Space programme was also catalyzed with the success of Yuri Gagarin in 1961. A formal program was proposed in 1970, which was kept low key due to adverse political and economic climate that arose during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution. Consequently, the intended scientific payloads were dropped in favor of a payload broadcasting the song “The East is Red”. Quian and many of the scientists of the day also fell afoul of the dreaded Red Guards, highlighting once again the domination of the politico-military axis in matters of S&T.

Things soon changed with the arrival of Deng Xiaoping on the political scene. Ia major departure from Beijing’s prevalent policy, Deng did not want China to enter the Space Race. He also played down the need for moon missions. Instead, he insisted on space for betterment of the difficulties it faces as well as the challenges it poses to the other space actors, notably the US.

Part two of the book covers in detail the activities in space and is a treasure trove of facts and figures. It is interesting to note that the first satellite efforts were on recoverable satellites which not only carried cameras but also small experiments related to the Human in space studies.

Looking at the details of the chapters on various satellites: recoverable, communications military communications, data relay, LEO, weather, remote country through the development of missiles as well as satellites for communications and remote sensing. The book analyses the impact of these reforms.

Some scientists did not take too kindly to the restrictions brought on by the reforms. They resurrected the human spaceflight in Programme 893 which was finally approved by Deng and brought back Chinese space efforts to the forefront and enabled its access to the political elite.

The remaining chapters in part one describe the effect of the end of the Cold War on the Chinese space efforts and its rise as a global space power and the sensing and navigation it is clear that the Chinese left no area of space unaddressed. The section on human spaceflight is equally detailed and shows the singleminded and tenacious approach of the Chinese scientists and engineers to achieve their goal in spite of political and economic upheavals. Space Sciences also has been addressed with the Lunar and Mars missions. The section on the launcher development is also of great interest and shows the ups and downs before success.

The richness of information on the Chinese Space programme makes the book a historical study, a tutorial, a study in management, and a reference guide.