China's Space Program: An Overview

Abstract

The People's Republic of China successfully completed its second human space flight mission on October 17, 2005. China is only the third country, after Russia and the United States, able to launch people into space. Its first human space flight was in 2003 when a single astronaut, or "taikonaut," made a flight lasting slightly less than a day. The 2005 flight lasted 5 days, and involved two taikonauts. As the United States embarks upon President Bush's "Vision for Space Exploration" to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020 and someday send them to Mars, some may view China's entrance into the human exploration of space as a competitive threat, while others may view China as a potential partner. This report will be updated as warranted.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 18, 2005
Accession Number
ADA457317

Entities

People

  • Marcia S. Smith

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Satellites
  • Commerce
  • Commercial Communications
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Governments
  • Lunar Exploration
  • Lunar Probes
  • Military Applications
  • National Security
  • Small Satellites
  • Space Exploration
  • Space Objects
  • Space Stations
  • Space Systems
  • Spacecraft
  • United States

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Missile Defense Systems.

Technology Areas

  • Space