Beginning of Chinese Rocketry

1
Beginning of Chinese Rocketry

• We've come a long way in the 2,300 years since
  Chinese religious mandarins first tossed
  ceremonial bamboo tubes packed with gunpowder
  into festival fires to drive off evil spirits.
• By A.D. 1045, gunpowder rockets were important
  weapons in in China's military arsenal.

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Beginning Of Chinese Rocketry
3
Early Stages of Rockets

• Peoples Republic of China (PRC) opened its first
  Missile and Rocket Research Institution on
  October 8, 1956.

• Hindered by what China today recalls as
  "technical blockades put in by the imperialist
  countries," nothing much happened until the
  1960's.

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The Very First

• Long March 1 (CZ-1) was first sent to space April
  24, 1970. The three stage Long March 1, in
  service since 1970, is 97 ft. tall and 7 ft. in
  diameter. It can carry 661 lbs. to a circular 273
  mile high orbit. It carried the Mao I, Chinas
  first satellite.

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Later Rockets

• Long March 2 (CZ-2) was first fired July 26,
  1975. The two-stage Long March 2, used since
  1975, is 107 ft. tall and 11 ft. in diameter.
  Long March 3 (CZ-3) was first used August 19,
  1983. The three-stage Long March 3, in use since
  1983, is 142 ft. tall and 11 ft. in diameter. It
  can lift a 3,086-lb. payload to a 120-mi.
  geosynchronous transfer orbit. Long March 4
  (CZ-4) was first used September 6, 1988. The even
  larger Long March 4, first used in 1988

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Later Rockets
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Government Agencies

• Astronautics. Rocketry in China is run by the
  Ministry of Astronautics, a government agency.
  Lin Zongtang is minister of China's aerospace
  industry. CAST. The state-owned Chinese Academy
  of Space Technology is China's only designer and
  manufacturer of space satellites. The state-run
  Overseas Telecommunications Commission,
  Australia's international telecommunications arm,
  signed a cooperation agreement with CAST in 1991.
  In a satellite joint venture, CAST would be
  responsible for launch facilities, while OTC
  would manage the launch.