CASC helps the country reach the stars – United States

Space service provider stands out on the world stage as policies spur development

The success of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) in the global space scene over the last four decades is a testament to the success of China's reform and open-door policy since the end of 1978.

The Beijing-based space and defense giant is owned by the state and has more than 170,000 employees, eight major academies and a dozen listed companies. In 2018, it ranked 343th in the Fortune Global 500 ranking, making it the fourth largest aerospace company in the world in terms of revenue, after Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin.

The success of the company also testifies to the decision taken by China in 1978 to embark on reform and opening. In the eleven years since the beginning of the reform and its opening until the end of 1989, China has conducted 16 space missions, all satellite launches. During the 1990s, 39 carrier rockets were launched and the last of them carried the first Shenzhou spacecraft prototype in space, thus opening up the space era. inhabited of China.

Between 2000 and November 2012, 111 rockets sent hundreds of satellites, four manned spacecraft with eight Chinese astronauts and one space laboratory in space.

Since then, 124 space launches have been carried out in the last six years, demonstrating China's relentless efforts to become a space power.

The Chinese Academy of Launch Technology, the China Academy of Space Technology and the Shanghai Academy of Space Technology, all of which are CCAC units, have filled almost every space mission in the country.

Long term aspirations

The Chinese people long wanted to realize their dream of "flying above the heavens". Chinese scientists developed a plan in the 1970s to develop an inhabited space program. However, they were unable to do so because of the country's limited capabilities in space technology and manufacturing at the time.

In 1986, a group of well-known Chinese scientists suggested to the government to consider the possibility of manned spaceflight and presented a roadmap approved by Party leadership in 1992.

With CASC and its predecessor, China Aerospace Corp, the country quickly achieved its human space program goals.

In October 2003, China made its first space mission, sending Yang Liwei on a 21-hour journey around the Earth aboard the Shenzhou V spacecraft.

Up to now, six manned spaceflights have been completed, totaling 68 days and circling the Earth 1,089 times. Chinese astronauts have traveled more than 46 million kilometers in space and conducted more than 100 scientific experiments during these missions. They performed extravehicular activities, several multi-day missions in the Tiangong-1 and 2 space laboratories, as well as a 40-minute space conference followed by more than 60 million Chinese students of nearly 80,000 schools.

Chinese scientists have also launched a cargo spacecraft to carry out several mooring and refueling operations with Tiangong-2, to verify technologies and equipment designed for space stations.

These achievements have become a source of national pride and confidence in the nation's capabilities.

To meet the needs of manned space programs, engineers from the China Academy of Vehicle Launch Technology have designed and built several new rocket models, including the Long March 5 and Long March 7 models.

The longest and most technologically advanced longest rocket ever built by China, Long March 5 has a take-off weight of 869 tons, a maximum payload of 25 tons in low Earth orbit and 14 tons in one orbit. geosynchronous transfer. This gigantic vehicle is responsible for transporting parts of China's future human space station and carrying out Mars explorations.

In addition to manned spaceflight, CASC also helped the country achieve another traditional dream: exploring the moon, a distant silver sphere considered by Chinese myths as the palace of some goddesses.

The company started sending robotic probes to the moon in 2007 and has been on several lunar missions ever since. He landed on the moon in December 2013 with the probe Chang & # 39; e 3, which wore the first Chinese lunar rover. The Chang & # 39; e 3 mission marked the first soft landing – the opposite of a brutal shock – by a spacecraft made by man nearly four decades ago.

The company launched a space relay satellite in May as the first leg of the lunar Chang & # 39; e 4 mission, which will explore the far side of the moon and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Compass in the heavens

Along with the exploration and scientific activities, CASC collaborated with the Chinese space authorities to set up an extensive network of navigation and positioning satellites and a high-definition Earth observation satellite system in order to facilitate the work of the public and economic sectors.

The Beidou network, mainly built by CASC, is one of four space-based navigation networks alongside US GPS, Russian GLONASS and Galileo of the Union. European.

Since 2000, when the first Beidou satellite was placed in space, 42 satellites have been launched for the system and several of them have been removed. Beidou began providing positioning, navigation, timing and messaging services to civilian users in China and parts of the Asia-Pacific region in December 2012.

China has planned to place 18 third generation Beidou satellites in space by the end of the year.

According to government plans, the network will consist of 35 satellites by the end of 2020 – many currently in orbit will be decommissioned by then – to provide global coverage to Beidou.

CASC is also collaborating with space services on the design and implementation of a high-resolution, space-based Earth Observation Network with eight satellites.