China and Russia have common interests outside the land
In terms of scale, scope and pursued goals, the Chinese space program continues similar "imperial" projects of the Soviet Union and the United States. It poses a wide range of applied problems of an economic, military, scientific and technical nature. But it doesn't stop there. Space activities are one of the important tools for strengthening China's status as a new superpower.
The fundamental decision on the need to develop the space program was made by Mao Zedong in 1958. Soon after the launch of the Soviet satellite, the country, which had difficulty in setting up production of MiG-19 trucks and fighters with our help, adopted the Liang Tribute and Sin program - two bombs (atomic, thermonuclear) and one satellite. It became the basis of science and technology policy for a decade. It was assumed that the implementation of the program would ensure the independence and defense capability of China and strengthen the prestige of the new government.
Atomic and thermonuclear bombs were tested in 1964 and 1967, and in 1970 the Chinese launched the first satellite with the Long March 1 carrier rocket based on the Dongfeng-4 MRBM.
The relatively rapid development of national programs for the creation of ballistic missiles and launch vehicles became possible thanks to the technical assistance of the USSR in the 50s and a fatal miscalculation made by the US government. The Soviet Union transferred technologies for the production of the R-1 and R-5 missiles (a variant of the latter, known as the DF-2, for a long time became the basis of the PRC's nuclear forces). The United States provided the Chinese with what they would never have received in the USSR. In 1950, on the wave of McCarthyism, the FBI suspected (most likely unfounded) of the communist activities of the prominent American rocket scientist Qiang Xuesen. He was harassed and suspended from work. But there was no evidence against him, and in 1955 he was allowed to leave the United States. If from the USSR the Chinese received only well-trained young engineers, then from America a world-class scientist who was able to independently implement the most complex technical projects came to them.
As a result, the conventional weapons industry in the Celestial Empire continued to produce improved modifications of Soviet equipment of the 50s in the 80s, but the rocket industry, despite the general scarcity of resources, became a growth point. In 1971, flight tests of the Chinese Dongfeng-5 intercontinental ballistic missile began. For the space program of the PRC, it played exactly the same role as the R-7 ICBM for the Soviet one, acting as the progenitor of the most massive family of launch vehicles - CZ-2 ("Great March-2").
On the second try
The history of manned astronautics dates back to July 14, 1967, when the State Council and the Central Military Council of the PRC approved the Shuguang project (project 714). The decision on it was made on the basis of considerations of prestige, without taking into account the real technical capabilities of the country. The first manned space flight was planned for 1973. The ship "Shuguang" with two astronauts, according to published documents, was supposed to resemble the American Gemini in design.
In 1968, the Center for Space Medicine was founded in Beijing. In the early 70s, 19 astronaut candidates were selected from among fighter pilots. But in 1972, the project was closed due to obvious technical impracticability. "Shuguang" became an example of a deliberately unrealistic design. They took up its implementation on a wave of dizziness from past successes. An even more eloquent example of this approach is Project 640, the program for creating a strategic missile defense system, which was curtailed in the early 80s after huge wasted expenses.
Subsequently, the Chinese acted more cautiously. The space program developed even against the background of a general sharp reduction in defense spending in the 1980s, demonstrating certain successes. In 1984, the first Chinese telecommunications satellite, DFH-2, appeared in orbit, and by 2000 the Chinese constellation of such devices had increased to 33. Advances in the development of telecommunications satellites made it possible in 2000-2003 to build an experimental positioning system "Beidou-1", covering the territory of the PRC, and from 2007 to start creating a full-fledged "Beidou-2".
The ability to maintain a powerful constellation of such spacecraft, combined with its own global positioning communications system, is of growing military importance, as China turns into a major global manufacturer and exporter of MALE-class UAVs (medium altitude, long flight duration). They are controlled via a satellite communication channel and require high-quality transmission of huge volumes of video information and other data. Since 1988, the PRC has been launching a series of Fengyun meteorological satellites into heliosynchronous orbits. 14 launches of such spacecraft were made, one of them, which worked out its FY-1C, was destroyed during tests of Chinese anti-satellite weapons in 2007.
Russia was a key partner of the PRC in space exploration, having played a special role in the 90s in promoting the Chinese manned program known as Project 921 (launched in 1992). Beijing received assistance in organizing a cosmonaut training system, designing spacesuits and ships of the Shenzhou series, which made their first manned flight in 2003. Another important partner was Ukraine, which transferred Soviet military and dual technologies to the Chinese almost free of charge throughout the 1990s and 2000s. With Ukrainian help, the PRC mastered the production of an analogue of the Soviet liquid-propellant rocket engine RD-120, which allowed the Chinese to move towards creating their own heavy launch vehicle.
Self-reliance (with the proviso of openness to international cooperation) is an important principle of the Chinese space program. It is enshrined in official documents - the White Papers on space activities of the PRC published in 2006 and 2011. The country implements programs of international cooperation in the space field with Russia, the European Union, and developing countries. But the ultimate goal is to increase their own capabilities in the development of extraterrestrial space.
Beijing declares its commitment to the peaceful use of outer space, but understands this exclusively as a refusal to deploy weapons. The PRC is one of the world leaders in the creation of ground-based anti-satellite systems, produces a wide range of reconnaissance spacecraft.
Currently, the Chinese program is developing in the following major areas. The development of new generation launch vehicles CZ-5, CZ-6, CZ-7 is nearing completion. The grouping of artificial earth satellites is growing with a simultaneous increase in their technical level and an increase in the duration of their service. The use of satellites in telecommunications and television broadcasting is expanding. By 2020, the construction of the national global positioning system Beidou should be completed. New research satellites are being prepared for launch, including an orbiting X-ray telescope. In the field of manned astronautics, flights to the Tiangong orbital modules will be carried out, docking technologies and assemblies of the future station, cargo ships will be tested. Search work will continue under the manned flight to the moon program, research aimed at soft landing and delivery of soil samples to Earth. It is planned to develop ground infrastructure, in particular, the new Wenchang cosmodrome on the Hainan Island and the fleet of ocean-going space tracking ships "Yuanwang".
In January 2013, the indicators that should be achieved by 2020 became known. By this time, China will have at least 200 spacecraft in orbit, and the number of LV launches will increase to an average of 30 per year. Exports of products and services will account for at least 15 percent of income from space activities. By 2020, the construction of the national orbital station should be basically completed, so that from 2022 the crew will constantly work on it.
By the end of 2014, China surpassed Russia in the number of satellites operating in orbit - 139 units. In 2015, he made 19 launches of the rocket, taking third place after the Russian Federation (29) and the USA (20). It is expected that this year the number of Chinese orbital launches will exceed 20. It should be noted that in recent years the failure rate of the PRC is lower than that of the United States and Russia.
In the field of manned space exploration, the Tiangong program is of paramount importance. It involves the launch into orbit in sequence of three so-called target modules - analogs of the orbital station, with only one docking station. Tiangong modules are capable of providing crews stay for 20 days. Having a two-year life cycle, in fact, Tiangong-1, launched into orbit in September 2011, stopped transmitting data to Earth only last March, having managed to carry out three docks with the Shenzhou spacecraft. The Tiangong-2 module will be launched this year. It is assumed that this work will allow the Chinese space industry to hone all the necessary technologies by 2020, when it will be possible to launch the modules of the first national orbital station into orbit using the more powerful launch vehicles "Long March 5".
Collaboration resources
Back in the 90s, China achieved success in creating optical-electronic reconnaissance satellites, the first of which was developed jointly with the Brazilians ZiYuan-1 ("Resource"), launched into orbit in 1999. This was followed by a series of ZiYuan-2 reconnaissance missions (all declared by the Chinese government as geological). In 2006, a program was launched to create a Yaogan constellation (remote sensing) in orbit. The satellites of this series include several types of spacecraft intended for conducting radar, electro-optical, radio-technical reconnaissance.
"According to American estimates, Chinese satellites of electronic-optical reconnaissance already in 2014 had a resolution of 0.6-0.8 meters."
To date, 36 Yaoganei have been launched into orbit. Today, the creation of an orbital constellation of satellites intended for maritime radar reconnaissance is of particular strategic importance. As expected, they should become the main source of target designation for the DF-21D and DF-26D anti-ship ballistic missile systems.
The programs for the creation of anti-satellite weapons are associated with projects of military special-purpose spacecraft of the SJ ("Shijian") family, on the basis of which orbital fighter satellites are created. With the SJ launched into orbit, rendezvous and docking experiments are being carried out.
Another program with an explicit military component is the Shenlong unmanned orbital aircraft, which resembles the famous American X-37 in size and layout. It is planned that the Shenlong will be launched from the suspension of a specially equipped H-6 bomber.
To put such satellites into orbit during a special period, China is working on the Great March 11 solid-propellant launch vehicle based on the DF-31 ICBM design, which can be used from mobile launchers. In addition, on the basis of the DF-31 and the DF-21 MRBM, two families of ground-based missiles (KT-1, KT-2), equipped with kinetic intercept warheads, are being created. This program is closely related to another major project - the creation of a national strategic missile defense system. This time, unlike in the 70s, the PRC has every chance to bring the matter to an end.
The Ukrainian crisis, which occurred against the backdrop of a simultaneous deterioration in relations between the PRC and the United States, led to some intensification of Russian-Chinese space cooperation, which significantly slowed down after the 1990s and early 2000s. The sides call the integration of the Beidou and GLONASS navigation systems, possible deliveries of RD-180 engines to China, purchases of an electronic component base in China, and joint projects for exploring the Moon and deep space as promising areas of interaction. As far as can be judged, all projects are in the development stage or at an early stage of implementation. All such complex technical programs require a long coordination, so that we will be able to see the results of joint programs only in a few years.
