Milestones in China's space sector

Oct 8, 1956

The Fifth Academy of the Ministry of National Defense — China's first rocket research body — is founded in Beijing. The date is now recognized as the birthday of the country's space industry.

April 24, 1970

China launches its first carrier rocket — a Long March 1, which is a de facto modified long-range ballistic missile, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia to place the country's first satellite, the Dongfanghong 1, into orbit. This mission makes China the fifth nation capable of launching its own spacecraft into orbit.

Nov 26, 1975

China deploys a recoverable remote-sensing satellite in orbit for the first time. The satellite, named Jianbing 1, or Scout 1, is launched by a Long March 2 rocket from the Jiuquan center, and is used for optical reconnaissance.

Sept 20, 1981

China launches a Fengbao 1, or Storm 1, rocket to deploy three satellites into space, becoming the fourth country able to place multiple satellites via a single launch.

April 8, 1984

China's first experimental communications satellite — Dongfanghong 2-0B — is lifted by a Long March 3 rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, marking the completion of a decade-long endeavor to develop a Chinese communications satellite.

Sept 7, 1988

China launches its first weather satellite, Fengyun 1A, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province. Since, it has deployed 21 Fengyun meteorological satellites into space.

April 7, 1990

China uses a Long March 3 rocket at the Xichang center to place the AsiaSat 1 communications satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit. The spacecraft is built by the Hughes Aircraft in the United States and operated by Hong Kong-based Asia Satellite Telecommunications. The launch marks the first time for China to lift a foreign satellite.

Nov 20, 1999

China launches the first prototype of its Shenzhou crewed spaceship from the Jiuquan center for technology demonstration and systems tests. The unmanned craft circles Earth 14 times before returning. The mission officially unveils the country's manned space program.

Oct 15, 2003

China's first manned spaceflight, the Shenzhou V mission, is launched from the Jiuquan center, sending astronaut Yang Liwei on a 21-hour journey around the planet. China becomes the third nation, following the former Soviet Union and the United States, capable of independent manned spaceflight.

Oct 24, 2007

China's first lunar explorer, the Chang'e 1 is launched by a Long March 3A rocket. It successfully verifies the country's lunar probe technologies.

Sept 27, 2008

Astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming complete the country's first extravehicular activity, commonly known as a spacewalk, during the three-day Shenzhou VII mission. Their short adventure makes China the third nation, following the former Soviet Union and the US, that can independently conduct a spacewalk.

Sept 29, 2011

China launches a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan center to place the country's first prototype space station Tiangong 1. The experimental station and the Shenzhou VIII unmanned spaceship complete the first orbital docking between any Chinese spacecraft on Nov 3, 2011.

April 26, 2013

The first satellite in China's space-based high-resolution Earth observation system, Gaofen 1, is sent into space aboard a Long March 2D rocket.

Dec 2, 2013

The Chang'e 3 mission begins, with the aim of sending a robotic probe to the moon. After a 12-day flight, the probe lands on the silver sphere, becoming the first Chinese spacecraft to do so and the first craft from any country to achieve the goal in nearly four decades. Yutu, the first Chinese lunar rover, moves onto lunar soil on Dec 15 and begins operations.

Nov 3, 2016

The Long March 5 rocket makes its debut flight at the Wenchang center, becoming the biggest, heaviest and mightiest in China's launch vehicle family. The 57-meter rocket has a liftoff weight of 869 tons.

Dec 8, 2018

China's fourth lunar probe, Chang'e 4, is launched from the Xichang center toward the far side of the moon. After a 26-day journey, the robotic spacecraft lands in the Von Karman Crater, beginning humanity's first close observation of the lunar far side. The Yutu 2 rover has worked on the moon for nearly 2,200 days and traveled more than 1,600 meters on the lunar soil, making it the longest-working rover ever.

June 5, 2019

A Long March 11 solid-propellant carrier rocket is used for China's first seaborne space launch in its territorial waters. Prior to the mission, the country had conducted more than 310 carrier rocket launches at its four land-based space launch centers.

July 25, 2019

Beijing startup i-Space becomes China's first private enterprise to successfully conduct an orbital mission. The company launches its SQX-1 carrier rocket from the Jiuquan center, sending two satellites and three experimental payloads into space.

July 31, 2020

The domestically developed Beidou Navigation Satellite System is completed and starts providing full-scale global services. Beidou is now one of the two space-based navigation networks with global coverage, the other is GPS operated by the US.

Nov 24, 2020

The Chang'e 5 robotic moon mission is launched from the Wenchang center. After landing on Dec 1, it brings 1,731 grams of lunar rock and soil back to the Earth. The 23-day mission makes China the third country to retrieve lunar samples.

July 23, 2020

The Tianwen 1 mission, the nation's first independent interplanetary exploration, is launched from the Wenchang spaceport. It travels more than 470 million kilometers before entering Mars' orbit in February 2021. Its rover named Zhurong touches down on the planet on May 15, 2021, and begins work on the surface a week later.

April 29, 2021

In-orbit construction of the Tiangong space station begins as the Tianhe core module — the first and central component — is launched. The module has three parts: a connection section; a life-support and control section; and a resources section.

Dec 31, 2022

President Xi Jinping announces the completion of the Tiangong space station in his New Year address, marking the realization of a grand aspiration pursued by Chinese scientists and space industry workers for three decades. The Tiangong consists of three major components: a core module and two science lab modules and is regularly connected with visiting spaceships.

May 3, 2024

The Chang'e 6 mission, representing the world's first attempt to bring samples from the far side of the moon, is launched from the Wenchang center. Its lander touches down at the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the lunar far side on June 2. The robotic mission successfully concludes on June 25 as a total of 1,935.3 grams of samples from the lunar far side are brought back.

Zhao Lei