China's Space Program
How China became a space superpower -- from its first satellite to the Tiangong space station -- and what its ambitions mean for the new space race.
From First Satellite to Space Station
China's space program began in 1956 under Qian Xuesen, a Caltech rocket scientist who was deported from the United States during the Red Scare -- a decision that US Navy Secretary Dan Kimball later called 'the stupidest thing this country ever did.' Qian built China's missile and space program from scratch. In 1970, China launched its first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 (East Is Red-1), becoming the fifth country to achieve orbital spaceflight.
Progress accelerated after 2000. In 2003, Yang Liwei became the first Chinese astronaut (taikonaut) aboard Shenzhou 5, making China the third country to independently launch humans into space. China completed its Tiangong space station in 2022 -- a permanently crewed modular station in low Earth orbit, making China only the second country (after Russia's Soviet-era Mir and the ISS partnership) to operate one.
China's exclusion from the International Space Station -- mandated by the 2011 Wolf Amendment, which prohibits NASA from cooperating with China -- ironically accelerated Chinese self-reliance. Unable to join the ISS, China built its own. As the ISS ages and faces decommissioning (currently planned for 2030), Tiangong may become the only functioning space station, potentially giving China leverage in international space cooperation.
