Launch pad of the Jiuquan Cosmodrome, China. Archival photoMOSCOW, April 24 — Project «Russia-China: The main thing».The myth of Chang'e's flight to the moon and the story of the aeronaut Wan Hu all testify to the fact that the Chinese nation has been dreaming of space flights since ancient times. The exploration of the vast space has become the endless pursuit of several generations of Chinese aerospace engineers. On the territory of China, from the Gobi Desert to Mount Dalyangshan, from the Loess Plateau to Hainan Island, there are Jiuquan, Taiyuan and Xichang Satellite Launch Centers, as well as the Wenchang Cosmodrome. Thus, the scientific placement of the launch areas is organized, taking into account the inland and coastal regions, high and low latitudes, and various launch directions. Jiuquan CosmodromeThe first Chinese Jiuquan cosmodrome is located on the territory of Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia. Its construction began in 1958. Jiuquan is the only space base in China that can launch a manned spacecraft.
Half a century in space. How Russia and China explore extraterrestrial spaceImportant tasks accomplished:
- —On April 24, 1970, the first Chinese artificial Earth satellite, Dongfanghong-1, was launched.
- On November 20, 1999, the Shenzhou-1 unmanned spacecraft was successfully launched for the first time. China's manned space program was officially launched.
- —October 15, 2003, the Shenzhou-5 manned spacecraft was successfully launched with China's first taikonaut Yang Liwei on board. Having made 14 orbits around the Earth in 21 hours and 23 minutes on the Shenzhou-5, it landed successfully.
- —September 29, 2011, China's first Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) orbital station-class spacecraft was successfully launched.
- —August 16, 2016 was successfully launched the world's first quantum satellite «Mo Tzu» was launched.
- —October 16, 2021, the Shenzhou-13 manned spacecraft was launched with 3 crew members on board. After a six-month stay in space, the Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on April 16, 2022.
Taiyuan Satellite Launch CenterThe center is located in Shanxi Province. Its construction began in 1967. This is China's first self-designed and built spaceport. From the Taiyuan Cosmodrome, mainly launches of satellites for launching into sun-synchronous orbit and launch vehicles are carried out. ScientistGeopolitics in Space: New Space Stations and ExplorationImportant Tasks Completed:
- —December 18, 1968, China's first self-designed and manufactured medium-range launch vehicle was successfully launched.
- —September 7, 1988 China's first meteorological satellite, Fengyun-1, was successfully launched.
- —June 5, 2019, technical tests of the launch of 7 satellites using sea-based missiles in the Yellow Sea were successfully completed. This was China's first space launch from the sea.
- —China's first science and technology experimental solar observation satellite Xihe was successfully launched on October 14, 2021.
Xichang Satellite Launch CenterThe center is located in Sichuan Province. Its construction began in 1970. Important Tasks Accomplished:
- —China's first experimental geostationary communications satellite, Dongfanghong-2, was successfully launched on April 8, 1984.
- —On October 24, 2007, China's first lunar sounding satellite, Chang'e-1, was successfully launched as part of China's lunar exploration program.
- —December 8, 2018, the Chang'e-4 lunar probe was successfully launched, which landed on the far side of the Moon on January 3, 2019, carrying out the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon and its subsequent reconnaissance.
- —On June 23, 2020, the 55th satellite in the BeiDou family of navigation satellite systems was successfully launched. This marked the completion of the Beidou-3 Global Satellite Navigation System (BDS-3).Born in space. Why Star Travelers Can't Live on Earth Wenchang Cosmodrome The Cosmodrome is located in Hainan Province. Construction began in 2009. It is China's first open seaside spaceport and one of the few space bases located at low latitudes. Important tasks accomplished:
- —November 3, 2016, a large-sized launch vehicle of the new generation Long March-5 (Long March-5) was successfully launched. The Long March 5 has a payload capacity of 25 tons in low Earth orbit and 14 tons in geostationary transfer orbit, making it the second largest modern rocket in the world.
- —April 20, 2017, China's first cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-1, was successfully launched. one». The probe made a successful soft landing on the surface of the Red Planet on May 15, 2021.
- On April 29, 2021, the main module of China's Tianhe space station was successfully launched. China has officially entered the era of orbital stations.
- —February 27, 2022, the launch of 22 satellites using a launch vehicle was successfully completed. Thus, China's record for the number of spacecraft launched with a single launch vehicle was broken.
East Marine Spaceport The spaceport is located in Shandong Province. The project was officially launched in 2019. This is China's first marine spaceport. The production of a floating base for sea launches is planned to be completed in 2022 and officially put into operation in the same year. The ship, 162.5 meters long and 40 meters wide, will be designed to launch and return large and medium solid-propellant launch vehicles, as well as small and medium-sized liquid fuel launch vehicles. It will be the world's largest sea launch vessel to date.