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Why is China Going into Space?

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China’s Strategy in Space

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Space Development ((BRIEFSSPACE))

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Abstract

The 1966–1976 Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution (文化大革命) has had lasting effects on China’s aerospace industry. These impacts can be seen in terms of technological hardware and selected missions, rules and norms in decision-making, institutional infrastructure and organization, and on the aerospace professionals and Chinese people.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For more on political considerations for science and technology studies in China, see Ref. [1].

  2. 2.

    The term “aerospace industry” encompasses China’s entire civil, military, commercial, and academic sectors, whereas, the term “space program” indicates one space endeavor such as the human spaceflight program, the lunar program, the Fengyun meteorological satellite program, the Beidou navigation satellite program, etc.

  3. 3.

    For more on the aerospace industry during the Cultural Revolution, see Ref. [2].

  4. 4.

    The students were encouraged to destroy traditional Chinese society to make way for a new socialist China, which resulted in young students turning against their teachers and even their parents, and laid the foundation for deeply seated suspicions and distrust that remain evident in today’s society.

  5. 5.

    In the exhibition room of the 529 plant sits the backup SJ-1 satellite on display [3].

  6. 6.

    For more on the history of the Fengyun satellite program, see Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology’s homepage at www.sast.org.cn/index.htm.

  7. 7.

    For more on decisions made during this plenary session, please see the original proceedings 中国共产党十一届三中全会 on 22 December 1978.

  8. 8.

    Interestingly, today’s PLA struggles with a lack of war fighting experience over the past several decades. Currently, it is gaining some experience through its anti-piracy activities in the Gulf of Aden.

  9. 9.

    Integrating the intellectual class back into society was accomplished in short order partly due to the Confucian ethic of hierarchical relationships, compiled in The Analects of Confucius, and the role of intellectuals in ancient dynastic political systems. This Confucian ethic supported the notion of man’s place in an hierarchical society where people’s relationships with one another are determined by their status as ruler, subject, father, son, husband, wife, elder sibling, younger sibling, or friend.

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  1. Fairfax Station, VA, 22039, USA

    Stacey Solomone

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  1. Stacey Solomone
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Solomone, S. (2013). Why is China Going into Space?. In: China’s Strategy in Space. SpringerBriefs in Space Development. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6690-1_2

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