China in Space

Information on Shenzhou and the Chinese Space Program

The space program of the People's Republic of China (PRC) began in 1956 with the cooperation of the USSR and continued as an indigenous nuclear deterrent program after the Sino-Soviet split in 1960. The Chinese space program was initiated at the behest of the Central Military Commission for fulfilling national defence needs. The potential military utility of space was the central reason for China embarking on its national space program since 1956. The programme was aimed at developing China’s aviation, guided missiles, rockets and missile defence needs. Thus, the first products of its space program were not Satellite Launch Vehicles (SLVs) or satellites, rather they were Ballistic Missiles like the Dongfeng-1 (DF-1), -2, -3, -4 and -5. Of these, the DF-4 and DF-5 became SLVs like the Changzheng-1 (CZ-1) and CZ-2 respectively.[1] Thus, PRC's first satellite, Dongfanghong I (The East Is Red I), was launched only two and a half decades later in 1970, making China the fifth space-faring nation. The manned space program began in 1968, and China became the third country to put a human in space in 2003.

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