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According to the development proposals of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP) made public last week, China is expected to double the key and basic technological development in the next 15 years.
Pursuing innovation-driven development is the first of the tasks listed in the proposals.
As a complete high-tech sector, the space industry is often seen as an indicator of the country’s global national strength. Today, the Chinese space industry is one of the most robust in the world.
During the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020), the country conducted more than 140 orbital launches – major missions include landing its Chang’e-4 probe on the opposite side of the moon last year and sending of Tianwen-1 Mars probe into orbit in July.
The country aims to become a leading space power in the world by 2045, according to a route map drawn up in 2018 by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
China plans to launch the Chang’e-5 probe by the end of this year to return the lunar samples to Earth, Yu Dengyun, deputy chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, said in September.
Tianwen-1 is expected to enter Mars orbit around February 2021. Thereafter, it will take two to three months to prepare for the May landing.
Future attempts to explore deep space include follow-up lunar missions and a second mission to Mars in 2028 to bring samples back to Earth. China will also probe asteroids and embark on an exploration mission in the Jupiter system around 2030, according to Xinhua.
In terms of manned spaceflight, the country is expected to complete its space station by 2022. China conducted its last manned mission in 2016 by sending two astronauts into orbit.
The rapid development of China’s space launch vehicles surprised the world as well.
After sending the Mars Tianwen-1 probe with its largest Long March-5 rocket into orbit, China aims to develop the super-heavy Long March-9 by 2030.
The rocket would have a central stage with a diameter of 10 meters and capable of carrying a 140-ton payload in low Earth orbit, five times that of the Long March-5, officials said.
Meanwhile, the country’s commercial space industry has taken off in recent years. China’s private space companies have marched into a field long dominated by state giants.
Last week, a Chinese private missile company Galactic Energy successfully launched its CERES-1 carrier rocket, making it the second Chinese startup to complete an orbital launch.
In July 2019, Beijing-based iSpace was the first Chinese privately held company to achieve this by successfully launching Hyperbola-1 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Last month, the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) established a new set of commercial space plans for the next five years.
During the fourteenth period of the five-year plan (2021-2025), China will continue to build space infrastructure, improve the capacity of commercial space systems and integrate them into key national development strategies, said Fu Zhimin, chief engineer of CASIC.
Graphics: Pan Yufei, Feng Yuan
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