The 21st century has seen the emergence, after the Soviet Union and the United States, of the third great space superpower: China. Here, in China in Space - The Great Leap Forward, Brian Harvey takes a contemporary look at the new Chinese space program.

China has already launched its first space station, Tiangong; has sent its first spacecraft to the Moon, the Chang e; and has plans to send spaceships to Mars and further afield. China's annual launch rate has already overtaken those of both Europe and the United States. Huge new production plants and launch centers are under construction, to build and launch the new family of Long March 5, 6, and 7 rockets. In Roadmap 2050, the Academy of Sciences indicates that China intends to be the leading spacefaring nation by mid-century, with bases on the Moon and Mars.

This book gives an informed, fully up-to-date commentary on all aspects of the Chinese space program, including its history, development, technology, missions, and the personalities involved. It lists all the Chinese launches, missions, and terminology, going behind the press releases to draw on hitherto unused scientific papers and sources. China in Space is a unique, forward-looking account of the Chinese space program, covering its full range of missions: manned, communications, scientific, military, technology-testing, and lunar.

Autorentext
Brian Harvey is an established Praxis author of many books in the Springer-Praxis Space Exploration program on the Russian, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, European space programs. He was the Editor of the Space Exploration 2007 annual and is Joint Editor of Space Exploration 2008 trivia. He has written many articles for 'Spaceflight' magazine, 'Orbit,' 'Astronomy and Space' and the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society and regular broadcasts on spaceflight for RTE, the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Zusammenfassung

Rockets were invented in China, the home of many modern inventions, including ancient astronomy, and were used originally for military purposes in the 13th century. The Chinese space program was founded in October 1956 by the father of Chinese rocketry, Tsien Hsue Shen, who lived in California in the 1930s until his expulsion as a Chinese spy.

In recent times there have been three manned spaceflights, highlighting China's ambitious space program and generating worldwide interest. Future missions are planned, including a mission to go to Mars.

The explosive growth of China's innovative and rapidly developing space program in recent years has made it a "hot" topic in international space policy. This follow up to Harvey's earlier book, China's Space Program - From Conception To Manned Spaceflight (2004) bring us up to date with everything that is happening in the Chinese space program today and looks at its ambitious future. The author briefly summarizes how this program evolved from medieval times, and uncovers the truth behind the bland, unreliable, and generally uninformative news releases issued around each space mission. It also examines the key features of the program, previously unknown to the outside world.

Inhalt
The First Chinese Space Station.- Medieval Rockets to First Satellites.- The Program.- Expanding the Space Program.- Recoverable Satellites.- Applying the Space Program.- The Big Leaf Forward: Manned Spaceflight.- To the Moon and Mars.- Chinese Ambitions in Space.