In 2019, China astonished the world by landing a spacecraft and rover on the far side of the Moon, something never achieved by any country before. China had already become the world’s leading spacefaring nation by rockets launched, sending more into orbit than any other. China is now a great space superpower alongside the United States and Russia, sending men and women into orbit, building a space laboratory (Tiangong) and sending probes to the Moon and asteroids. Roadmap 2050 promises that China will set up bases on the Moon and Mars and lead the world in science and technology by mid-century. China’s space programme is one of the least well-known, but this book will bring the reader up to date with its mysteries, achievements and exciting plans. China has built a fleet of new, powerful Long March rockets, four launch bases, tracking stations at home and abroad, with gleaming new design and production facilities. China is poised to build a large, permanent space station, bring back lunar rocks, assemble constellations of communications satellites and send spaceships to Mars, the moons of Jupiter and beyond. A self-sustaining lunar base, Yuegong, has already been simulated. In space, China is the country to watch.

This book is designed for publication straight after the launch of China's first manned spacecraft. The precursor mission, Shenzhou, flew unmanned in November 1999, in line with the predictions of The Chinese Space Programme: From Conception to Future Capabilities (1998) the first edition of this retitled book. China's Space Program: From Conception to Manned Spaceflight builds on the 1998 title to take account of the first manned flight in October 2003. It also brings the reader up to date with other developments in the Chinese space programme over from 1998 to the manned flight and looks forward to China's future plans and ambitions.

Analyzes the Chinese space program in the context of Chinese political, economic, and cultural parameters critical to realistic and pragmatic policy analysis. Projections are offered concerning where China might be going in the future, what policy actions the US might take to avoid a confrontational stance with China, and how to encourage Beijing to build a more stable regime. Includes a glossary. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This study is the product of a long view of space exploration and the conversations about space in China. It locates the multiple conversations about space exploration and utilisation as they are in the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC), within other conversations about space culture in the world. China is viewed by Western researchers though many lenses which are examined here critically. In previous studies, writers explain away China‘s space programme with the easy answers of a "Space Race" and a "China Threat", in which the space programme is seen as merely an example of global competition, or threat, but this thesis challenges those barriers to Western understanding of the Chinese public conversation of space culture. In this study, critical theory and an underlying epistemology within a post-Enlightenment cultural frame are applied to official, archival and ephemeral texts and images. The manner of the critical application is distinguished from derivate techniques operationalised as Open Source Intelligence. The concept of Place, and within that, Foucault’s linguistic concept of “Heterotopia”, is significant both in understanding the Chinese overseas space bases on Earth and the temporal and spatial dislocations experienced in space missions. In acknowledging the interpretative approach, an empirical study, a "Q-sort" has been carried out, which demonstrates that the key factor in the Chinese conversation is Science, within the context of modernisation, tempered by Chinese cultural affirmation and international co-operation. The thesis concludes by providing general principles in future work for successful research into the popular culture of space exploration.

This volume explains the beginnings and expansion of China's space program, analyzing how China is now able to hold such ambitions and how the interaction between technology, politics and economics has influenced the Chinese space program. It opens by tracing out the earlier development of the space program and identifying the successes and problems that plagued this initial effort, later focusing upon its development over the past decade and into the future. As China is now able to reach into outer space with its machines and, since 2003, with its humans, the authors examine how this move from a non-participant status to a state operating at the highest level of space activities has confirmed its potential place as the new economic and military superpower of the twenty-first century. They also demonstrate how recent successes mean that China is now confronted by an issue previously encountered by other space ‘powers’, such as the United States and the former Soviet Union: what is the value of the space program, given its high costs and likelihood of dramatic failure? Chinese Space Policy will be of great interest to students of space studies, Chinese politics, security studies, and international relations in general.

Space capabilities are becoming absolutely essential for national development, economic well-being, commerce, and daily life, besides becoming a crucial component of successful military operations. Space has emerged as an essential component in furthering a nation’s Comprehensive National Power. China’s progress in space technologies, whether in relative or absolute terms, has larger implications for India. As China’s space program increases in capability, it can be expected to wield this power to increase regional dominance and deter countries from pursuing policies that are contrary to Chinese interests. Space the ultimate “High Ground” will play crucial role in all future conflicts. Space force enhancement operations multiply joint effectiveness by increasing the combat potential, operational awareness, and providing needed joint force support. This book brings out the key features of China’s Space Program, its future trajectory and how it can impact India’s national interest. It further suggests options for India in the given circumstance and how India can secure its geo-political, economic interest and security concerns without getting into space race with China.

A complete history of human endeavors in space, this book also moves beyond the traditional topics of human spaceflight, space technology, and space science to include political, social, cultural, and economic issues, and also commercial, civilian, and military applications. In two expertly written volumes, Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia covers all aspects of space flight in all participating nations, ranging from the Cold War–era beginnings of the space race to the lunar landings and the Apollo-Soyuz mission; from the Shuttle disasters and the Hubble telescope to Galileo, the Mars Rover, and the International Space Station. The book moves beyond the traditional topics of human spaceflight, space technology, and space science to include political, social, cultural, and economic issues, and also commercial, civilian, and military applications. Produced in conjunction with the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, this work divides its coverage into six sections, each beginning with an overview essay, followed by an alphabetically organized series of entries on topics such as astrophysics and planetary science; civilian and commercial space applications; human spaceflight and microgravity science; space and society; and space technology and engineering. Whether investigating a specific issue or event or tracing an overarching historic trend, students and general readers will find this an invaluable resource for launching their study of one of humanity's most extraordinary endeavors.